Scheme
by fruit-joshua
Summary: The heart is the most delicate things in the world. Yuu Amano, unfortunately, learns about this the hard way as he's forced to cope with the reality he is about to face. eventual Taiki/Yuu BL warning, rated for safety
1. Chapter 1

So I would like to point out that I started writing this around...episode 4? of the new season. I think it was either just before or just after Damemon came back. So most of the stuff in this you will notice is completely different from where the season is heading up too. Concerning Ryouma, Ren and Airu everything is made up and I doubt I'll be changing it once their story/background is actually revealed. I have up to chapter four of this writen, I don't expect it to go past 10 chapters. I'll update a new chapter every week or so until I have to start writing again, but hopefully by the time chapter 4 goes up I'll have chapter five written anyway lol.

Another thing I would like to point out is this is a Yaoi. The pairing this leads up to is Taiki/Yuu (Taikyuu ^w^) but there will be also Ren/Yuu, KiriTai and a little bit of Ryouma/Tagiru for my own personal enjoyment.

Special thanks to Anime Master ZERO for Beta reading and for getting me into the Taikyuu pairing in the first place. Oh and for the discription, cause I'm pretty bad at those.

Disclaimer: I don't own digimon just this random story idea. Hope you all enjoy it.

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><p><em>They waved good bye to their Digimon friends, watching as they returned to their own world. The battle against Bagramon was won and peace was restored, not only to the Digital World but to the Human World as well. Taiki Kudou lowered his waving arm as the last of his friends and teammates disappeared. His smile slowly faded and a sad look replaced it.<em>

"_Taiki..?" Akari looked at her childhood friend in concern. Taiki's gaze remains on the sky and he made no indication that he had heard the girl. He finally registered the others when a hand was placed on his shoulder. Looking over at the owner of the hand, Kiriha smiled down at him. The blonde gave a small jerk of his head, indicating that Taiki follow him, before turning around and walking away from the group of friends._

_Taiki stared at him in confusion at first before following leaving the rest of his friends watching after them in confusion. Kiriha finally stopped walking when the two of them were out of both hearing and eyesight of the others._

"_What is it?" Taiki asked once they stopped. Kiriha looked at Taiki before leaning against the wall behind him, crossing his arms._

"_Do you remember back when we first met, I was insistent on having you join me?" he asked. Taiki grinned a little at the memory and nodded._

"_I didn't like you one bit back then." He answered. Kiriha let a smile creep onto his face as well._

"_I still do," He stated causing a look of confusion to spread over Taiki's face. Kiriha laughed and looked down, the smile never leaving his face._

"_In a different sense, Taiki."_

"_I don't understand…" Taiki muttered walking up to the blonde. Kiriha looked up at Taiki when the younger boy stood directly in front of him. He moved quickly so Taiki didn't have a chance to react, grabbing the goggle boy and spinning them around so that Taiki was pressed firmly against the wall. Taiki's eyes widened in surprise and he let out a gasp as his back hit the wall._

"_Kiriha..!"_

"_You don't really get it, do you Taiki Kudou?" Kiriha asked in a low voice leaning in closer. Taiki felt his face get hot but didn't respond just stared up at Kiriha with wide yet anticipating eyes. Kiriha noticed that anticipation immediately and smirked before closing the gap between them._

_The kiss was short and gentle compared to what Taiki would have thought coming from Kiriha. When it was over the tingling sensation on the younger's lips left him wanting more. Kiriha chuckled, seeing the look in the Taiki's eyes before giving him one more small peck and pulling away. Taiki gave a small sound of disappointment but made no attempt to bring Kiriha back to him._

"_I guess you do get it." Kiriha stated. Taiki smiled before leaning forward and wrapping his arms around the older boy's waist, burying his head in his chest. Kiriha didn't hesitate to return the embrace and it wasn't long before Taiki's shoulders started to shake._

"_I miss them," Taiki whispered, "Shoutmon…Dorurumon…Balistamon….everybody…I miss them already…"_

"_Shhh…." Kiriha whispered, pulling the goggle boy closer to him as he started to cry, "It will be alright. We're all still here…I'm still here."_

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><p>School had ended for the day and Taiki, Yuu and Tagiru were all walking away from the school grounds. Tagiru had his hands behind his head and a disappointed pout was on his face.<p>

"Stupid teacher…" He muttered. Yuu laughed into his fist knowing that Tagiru was just upset at the surprise test they had just had.

"It's your own fault," I said looking at his classmate, "You really should study more."

"But if I waste time studying I'll never surpass Taiki as a Hunter!" Tagiru complained spinning on his heals so he was walking backwards. Yuu smirked at that comment

"Like that will ever happen."

"What was that?"

Taiki watched his two Juniors argue and couldn't help but laugh. It didn't matter how long they had been Hunting together Yuu just seemed to get a kick out of riling Tagiru up the wrong way. Personally Taiki didn't mind since it provided a source of entertainment. He turned his gaze from the two of them back to the school gates, only to stop. Tagiru and Yuu stopped there arguing when they noticed their idol suddenly stop in his tracks.

"Taiki-san..?" Yuu asked in concern. Taiki didn't take his eyes off the school gates.

"Kiri…ha..?" He finally spoke up, voice barely above a whisper. Tagiru's face scrunched up in confusion and Yuu looked surprised before turning his attention to the school gates. Standing against the wall, arms crossed with one leg propped up was a boy just older than Taiki, his blonde hair pulled back into a pony, but his bangs still falling into his face. Yuu smiled before breaking into a run.

"Kiriha-san!" He exclaimed stopping in front of him. Kiriha smiled and pushed off the wall.

"Hey Yuu, how's it been?" He asked. By this point in time Taiki and Tagiru had both made it over to Kiriha's side as well. Kiriha looked over at Taiki before Yuu could respond and smiled at him fondly. Taiki gave a small laugh before returning the smile.

"Pretty good," Yuu answered not really noticing the exchange between the two, "It's been a while since we've seen you though." Kiriha nodded in response to the statement.

"I heard something about Digimon Hunting, and a new member of the Team." He said looking over at Tagiru, "I take it that's you?" Tagiru looked at Kiriha in confusion before over at Taiki while pointing at the blonde.

"So who is this guy?" he asked.

"You idiot!" Yuu snapped. Taiki just laughed before placing a hand on his hips.

"That's Kiriha. He was the General of Blue Flare and one of my strongest allies." Taiki explained.

"What!" Tagiru exclaimed in shock. Taiki laughed once more before looking at Kiriha.

"This is Tagiru Akashi," He introduced.

"He's reckless to the extreme…" Yuu muttered.

"Do you ever _not_ insult me!" Tagiru complained. Yuu smirked and looked away.

"Nope."

"Well you know what that say," Kiriha started with a smirk of his own, "You only tease those you like." Yuu faulted and looked at Kiriha in horror.

"Who'd like that idiot!" He snapped. Tagiru gave a disgusted look of his own and the two older boys just laughed.

"Well," Kiriha said once he was done laughing, "I wanted to hang out with Taiki for a bit and catch up, if you two don't mind."

"Catch up?" Yuu inquired before shrugging, "I suppose but wouldn't it be okay if I joined as well?"

"Maybe tomorrow, Yuu." Taiki answered walking to stand next to Kiriha, "I see you almost all the time. The three of us can hang out another time."

"Four!" Tagiru cut in causing the others to look at him in confusion, "I wanna hear about all the cool things you did back in Xros Heart!" Taiki laughed while Yuu simply pouted.

"Alright, four of us then," Taiki agreed before turning around, "And Yuu, if you're done reading it can you drop off the book I leant you tonight? Akari wanted to borrow it tomorrow."

"Uh…sure…" Yuu muttered. Taiki said his thanks and waved to the younger boys as he left with Kiriha. Yuu watched as they left, a small frown crossing his face as he noticed how close they stood together, their hands practically touching.

_They never stood that close before…_

"Hey Yuu!" Tagiru interrupted the boys musing causing him to look over at him, "We should go Hunting."

"No." Yuu turned down the suggestion immediately.

"What? Oh come on Yuu!" Tagiru whined, "We haven't been hunting in a while and I need to-"

"To surpass Taiki-san right?" Yuu finished boredly, "I've heard that about a million times and I've told you time and time again, that's impossible for you. Besides," He looked pointedly at the goggle boy, "If you have so much time to go Hunting you should use that time to study so you're not off caught off guard when Sensei gives us a pop quiz again." Tagiru cringed at the jab before responding.

"Well sorry!" He snapped, "Not all of us can be top students like you!"

Yuu just shrugged, not really paying attention to Tagiru's outbursts anymore. He only tolerated them when Taiki was around but other than that he didn't bother with them.

"So why do they have to catch up anyway?" Tagiru asked as the two started to walk away from the school, "I mean your sister was apart of Xros Heart too right? Why does it make a difference with him?" Yuu shrugged before answering.

"Kiriha doesn't live in the Koto district," He explained, "He did before the Digital World incident I think but after his parents died he moved in with his aunt and uncle in a different district. Usually because of school we only see him every once in a while. Other than that it's just emails and phone calls."

"So then how did he find out about me?" Tagiru asked, "Am I becoming a famous Hunter or something?" Yuu scoffed before giving a mocking laugh.

"Hardly," He stated, "Taiki probably told you about him in one of their emails…" He trailed off at that realizing that it probably was true. Taiki seemed to have gotten even closer to Tagiru since the younger goggle boy had gotten his own Digimon partner. Yuu felt the jealousy return at that thought but kept it inside, not wanting to let Tagiru in on his feelings. Even thought Yuu had finally gotten Damemon back he still felt like the third wheel in their group.

"Anyway I'm going home," Yuu said interrupting whatever complaint that Tagiru was about to give, "See you tomorrow."

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><p>"Welcome home Yuu," A voice called out as he entered his home. Yuu froze in surprise before walked into the living room to find his sister sitting in front of the coffee table, a book in her hand. She had changed her pink outfit from back in the digital world to a light purple dress, the top half being rather formfitting with short sleeves while the skirt flared out around her thighs. She also had a white belt and wristband while her hair remained in her trademark ponytail.<p>

"Ne…Nee-san?" Yuu exclaimed in shock. Nene giggled, closing the book and placing it on the table.

"Long time no see," She greeted, "Hope you don't mind I decided to drop by." Yuu grinned and shook his head before sitting down in front of the couch next to his sister.

"Of course not," He answered, "Looks like two surprise visits in one day."

"Really?" Nene asked, "Who what's the other one?"

"Kiriha-san. He dropped by the school to see Taiki-san." Nene looked at him in mild shock before smiling.

"Really?" She asked, "I didn't know he was coming to visit." Yuu smiled and nodded his head.

"He's with Taiki-san right now though, said he wanted to catch up," He explained, "But tomorrow we're supposed to all hang out. You're gonna come too right?" Nene nodded her head.

"Of course. I wouldn't want to miss seeing Kiriha again," She answered, "And I'm guessing that Tagiru will be joining us?" Yuu scowled and fell down onto his back, looking up at the ceiling.

"Unfortunately." He muttered.

"You really don't like him do you?" Nene stated more than asked.

"He's annoying!" Yuu complained, "Always going on about surpassing Taiki-san! I mean up until recently he didn't even know that Digimon existed let alone what they were and now he goes on and on about becoming the best and it's irritating. I didn't like him before and I don't like him now! Doubt I ever will."

Nene laughed before returning to her book. She was aware of Yuu's admiration for Taiki but what Yuu hadn't realized was that she also knew exactly how much Taiki actually meant to him.

"Anyway," Yuu said getting up, "I'm gonna go find the book I borrowed from Taiki. I need to drop it off later tonight."

"Going to study in the meantime?" Nene asked. Yuu nodded as he picked up his school bag.

"I'm gonna let Damemon out also," He answered as he walked to the stairs.

"Mind if I join you?" Nene asked. Yuu shrugged in response before heading to the stairs, Nene close behind him.

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><p>Yuu had finished his homework with the help of his sister while Damemon had found Taiki's book so the three of them just hung out in his room for a while. Since he had started Hunting on top of basketball he hadn't had much time to just relax and with his sister away in Hong Kong they had a lot of catching up to do, so the time they spent chatting up in his room went by real quick and the next thing he knew it was already six o'clock.<p>

He quickly returned Damemon to his Xros Loader and excused himself from his sister before running out the house and heading to Taiki's. It was a short walk since the lived fairly close to each other which he was glad for since it had started getting dark out already. As Taiki's house finally showed up in his line of vision he noticed another figure standing outside the house.

He stopped for a moment watching as the figure moved from the front of the house towards the back. That gave Yuu an uneasy feeling so he ran after him, following the person around to the back fence. Once there he recognized the person as Ren Tobari, one of the other Hunters in the group against his.

"Hey!" he called out catching Ren's attention. Yuu ran up to him ready to ask what he was up to only to have Ren jump up and cover his mouth, pulling him down next to the fence.

"Shhhh." he whispered. Yuu looked at him in confusion before Taiki's voice caught his attention.

"Did you here something?" came Taiki's distant question.

"No, why?" Kiriha's voice was heard next and Yuu's eyes widened ever so slightly. Why was Kiriha at Taiki's house at this hour? By this point in time Ren had released Yuu from his grip and both boys peeked over the fence. Taiki and Kiriha were sitting on the back porch, Taiki's head resting against Kiriha's shoulders with Kiriha's arms around him.

Yuu held back a gasp at the sight, feeling his chest knot up as a flood of different emotions ran through him.

"It's nothing," Taiki responded to Kiriha's question, "I guess I'm just wondering where Yuu is. He said he'd stop by."

"He should be here soon then," Kiriha said before looking down at Taiki, "Are you still scared about letting other people know?"

"Well…Nene knows but she found out by accident," Taiki responded before taking a deep breath, "It's just…Yuu and Tagiru look up to me you know. I'm just scared that…that if they found out I'm with another guy that, well…"

"They wouldn't like you as much?" Kiriha suggested.

_Together__…__?_ Yuu thought in shock as he listened, _Taiki-san__…__and__Kiriha-san__are__…_

"Yeah I guess." Taiki agreed. Kiriha smiled fondly at Taiki before leaning down and giving him a peck on the lips. Yuu's breath hitched in his throat before dropping down to the ground once more, back against the fence. One of his hands gripped the fabric of his shirt in front of his chest and he clenched his teeth together.

_It__hurts..!_ he thought.

"You worry too much," Yuu vaguely heard Kiriha say to Taiki before completely blocking out the rest of the conversation. He squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears, while the knot in his chest tightened.

"Well I guess it's true then," Ren stated sitting down next to Yuu. Yuu looked over at him, mild confusion written over his face.

"What…?" he asked. Ren shrugged his shoulders before responding.

"I heard a rumor that Taiki had hooked up with the General of Blue Flare," He answered, "I think this confirms it."

"What are you going to do with that information?" Yuu asked suddenly fearing blackmail to Taiki. Ren shrugged his shoulders before giving a side glance over at Yuu.

"Nothing really," He stated, "The most I'd do is tell Ryouma and Airu and even then it's just another piece of random info that doesn't matter much."

"Then why did you bother finding out if it was true or not?" Yuu demanded. Ren sighed before looking down at Yuu.

"Instead of worrying about what we're going to do with the information, shouldn't you be trying to figure out what you're going to do now?" he asked. Yuu blinked at him in confusion not fully understanding what he was trying to say. Ren sighed before continuing, "I'm not blind you know, I saw how you reacted to that kiss…to the whole scene in general. You like him don't you? Taiki I mean."

Yuu was silent for a moment before a small blush covered his face and he looked down in embarrassment. That was one of his most well kept hidden secrets, his feelings for Taiki. The Red General had, after all, saved him not just physically but emotionally as well. What started off as simple admiration turned into a strong love that, at time, Yuu himself had a hard time hiding. So seeing Taiki like this with Kiriha….

He bit his lip as feelings of jealousy, betrayal, and sadness all flooded through him at the same time, twisting inside of him. It was taking everything he had not to start crying, and the last thing he wanted to do was let Ren see that side of weakness.

"You came here for a reason though right?" Ren asked standing up, "Better go do what you started before you're unable to stop yourself from breaking down." Yuu looked up in shock at Ren who had just opened a portal into the DigiQuartz. Said boy waved back at Yuu before the portal closed, leaving him sitting there alone. Yuu felt a little uneasy about Ren now, considering how perceptive he was.

He sat by the fence a little while longer, calming himself so he could face Taiki as normally as possible before standing up and walking back to the front of the house. He rang the doorbell and it took a few moments before Taiki opened it.

"Hey Yuu!" he greeted with a smile. Yuu suddenly felt nervousness creep into the emotional turmoil he was feeling. That smile was one of the many things he loved about Taiki.

"I was wondering what was taking you so long," Taiki continued. It took Yuu a moment to get his wits back together. He laughed nervously before handing the book to Taiki.

"Y-Yeah, sorry about that…" He muttered, "Nee-san and I were hanging out and I got sidetracked."

"Oh," Taiki smiled as he took the book, "Nene's back?" Yuu forced a smile onto his face and nodded.

"Yeah, funny isn't it?" He asked, "Kiriha-san and Nee-san in one day."

"yeah no kidding," Taiki agreed, "Well Tagiru is also on his way over so why don't you come in for a bit?" Yuu's eyes widened ever so slightly. There was no way he could spend time with Tagiru, Taiki and Kiriha with the way his feelings were right now.

"N-No that's ok!" He said shaking his head, "I still have tones of homework to do and I haven't even found out how long Nee-san is going to be here for." Yuu quickly lied taking a few steps back.

"Oh…okay," Taiki said, "Well tell her I said hi."

"Y-Yeah, see you." Yuu said before turning on his heals and running back towards his house. Once he got far enough away from Taiki's house he slowed down his pace to a walk, his gaze on his feet.

_That __was __too __close__…_ he thought realizing that his control nearly slipped. The last thing he needed was to break down in front of Taiki and have him wonder what was wrong. There was no way he could tell him that he was the reason he was so upset.

"Yuu? You're going home already?" Yuu looked up at the sound of Tagiru's voice. Said boy was standing just in front of him, staring at Yuu in confusion. Yuu quickly forced a smile onto his face, not wanting to let Tagiru see these emotions either.

"Yeah, I need to finish my homework," He gave the same lie to Tagiru that he did to Taiki, "Besides it looks like Taiki-san and Kiriha-san are still catching up."

"Heh?" Tagiru muttered scratching the back of his head absentmindedly, "But he told me to come on over since you were coming anyway."

"Yeah well, I honestly think they just want to be alone right now…" Yuu said, his voice starting to shake. He needed to find a way to get away from Tagiru and fast or else he wouldn't be able to hold out any longer.

"Ne Yuu…" Tagiru walked closer to Yuu a look of concern on his face, "Are you…crying?" Yuu's eyes widened in shock before he reached up and touched his cheek feeling wet tears on what should have been a dry face. Yuu's breath hitched and he quickly wiped the tears away with the back of his hand, only to have more replace them almost immediately.

"I-I'm not..! I…!" Yuu stuttered out before chocking out a sob. Realizing it was useless to try and stop the tears he pushed past Tagiru and ran the rest of the way home. He slammed the door open when he got there and ran up to his room, past Nene who called out to him in concern, before throwing himself onto his bed and sobbing.

"Yuu..?" Nene whispered peeking into his room, concern lacing her voice.

"G-Go…away..!" Yuu snapped through his sobs. Nene chose to do the exact opposite, walking into her younger brothers' room and closing the door behind her. She sat down on his bed next to him, placing her hand on his back and rubbing soothing circles on in. It didn't take long for Yuu to sit up and wrap his arms around her, crying into his chest. Nene returned the embrace and gently rocked him.

"There, there," she whispered, "It's alright. Everything's going to be okay." Yuu just continued to cry and eventually Nene caught onto what was wrong. Through his sobs she heard Taiki's name a few times. She frowned and pulled him closer to her, opting to call Taiki once he had settled down.

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><p>so there's chapter 1, I'll update chapter 2 next week, lets aim for monday though. hope you all liked it, R&amp;R please<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

I forgot yesterday was Monday...oops lol. well here's the update, a day late but hope you enjoy none the less.

Disclaimer: Me no own kaythanxbye!

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><p>"<em>So <em>_he__'__s __okay __now?_" Taiki's concerned voice was heard through the receiving end of the phone. Yuu had cried himself to sleep in Nene's arms and once she was sure he was asleep she had called up Taiki. Apparently Taiki had heard from Tagiru about Yuu and had been about to call as well but she beat him to it.

"Yeah," Nene responded, "But he's asleep now."

"_Do __you __know __what__'__s __wrong?_" Taiki asked. Nene bit her lip debating on whether or not to let Taiki know before deciding against it.

"No," she answered, "But I'm sure when he's ready he'll let us know." He heard Taiki sigh before he spoke up again.

"_Alright,_" He agreed, "_Good night Nene, and Thanks._"

"No problem Taiki, G'night." She hung up the phone then before looking up the stairs to where Yuu's room was. Her eyebrows scrunched together in worry before turning her gaze to the phone and sighing.

_If __only __he __knew__…_ She thought before going up stairs to her own room.

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><p>"You sure you're gonna be okay?" Nene asked Yuu that morning. Yuu was just about to walk out of the house to leave to school and Nene couldn't help but worry about her brother seeing Taiki again, so soon after his breakdown. Yuu gave his sister a reassuring smile before nodding his head.<p>

"I'll be fine," He said, "It was just a silly crush after all…" Nene frowned and shook her head.

"That was not just a silly crush," She disagreed, "You were way more upset than you should have been if it was just a silly crush." Yuu sighed and looked away, knowing his sister was right but not wanting to admit it out loud himself. Nene gave a sigh herself wrapping her arms around her middle and looking down. Yuu stared at her, confused by the reaction.

"I…I should have told you Yuu," She admitted sadly, "I knew that they were together, but I also knew that you liked him…I'm so sorry."

"Nee-san…" Yuu walked over to his sister, placing a hand on her shoulder, "It's not…your fault. You were just respecting their privacy. Taiki didn't tell either of us so you're not to blame, okay."

"Yuu…" Nene looked up at her brother in mild shock but the guilt was still there. Yuu gave her a reassuring smile before pointing to his own face.

"And I quote: That face is Dame Dame!" He giggled. Nene couldn't help but smile at her brother efforts to cheer her up. Giving a small laugh herself she ruffled his hair before opening the door for him.

"I'll see you after school alright Yuu." She called as he walked out of the door. Yuu nodded in agreement and waved before heading down the hall of the apartment. Once he was out he stood by the edge of the street for a moment letting the façade of happiness disappear from his face. The only reason he put on that face was so that Nene wouldn't worry as much. He hated making her worry.

He shook his head before continuing down the path to school. Soon he'd run into Taiki and Tagiru and then he would have to come up with some excuse to tell them. Yuu sighed before looking up at the clear morning sky.

_But __what?_ he thought to himself. He couldn't just write it off as nothing. Tagiru would not accept that as an answer since Yuu never cried, especially not in front of others, and Taiki's habit of not turning his back on someone also made him a bit nosey when it came to personal business.

He stopped when he noticed the two goggle boys already waiting for him at their usual meeting corner. Taiki looked up when he saw Yuu and gave a small wave but looks of concern were evident on their faces. Yuu gulped nervously feeling the lump in his throat swell at the sight of Taiki. Doing his best to push it down he jogged the rest of the way over to his friends.

"Hey…morning," he greeted, still unsure of what to say to them.

"Morning Yuu," Taiki returned the greeting, "How you feeling today?"

"Uh…" Yuu stared at him blankly, trying to think up what to say. For once Yuu was glad that Tagiru had a bad habit of interrupting people.

"So what got you so upset last night anyway?"

Scratch that. Tagiru just made the situation worse. Yuu frowned and looked off to the side, his shoulders lifting up and giving him an almost fragile appearance.

"It's nothing…" he muttered just above a whisper. Taiki frowned in concern before reaching over to place a hand on Yuu's shoulder. Yuu saw the advancing hand and moved away from him, a flicker of fear crossing his face. The fear wasn't of Taiki but of what Yuu would do if Taiki touched him now. Taiki looked shocked at Yuu's rejection before pulling his hand away and sighing.

"You do know you can talk to us about anything right?" Taiki inquired. Yuu simply nodded before looking down so his bangs covered his face.

"I…I'm sorry," he muttered, "But right now…I'd rather not talk about it." Taiki sighed but nodded his head, deciding it best not to force Yuu to talk.

"What?" Tagiru asked in disbelief, "Come on you can't just leave us in the dark! You never cry! At least I haven't seen you cry."

"I do cry," Yuu said blankly, "I cried a lot when I first met Taiki-san, and even more before then…I've always been a cry baby."

"That's not true Yuu," Taiki cut in causing both younger boys to look up at him. Taiki just smiled reassuringly at Yuu before turning to walk towards their school, "Everybody cries Tagiru, even I do and Yuu is no exception. When Yuu wants to talk about what's bothering him, he will but for now leave it be."

"But-"

"I said leave it Tagiru," Taiki interrupted sternly. Tagiru shut his mouth and gave a small pout but didn't argue, "Now let's get to school before we're late. C'mon."

"Now I get to find out how badly I failed that pop quiz…" Tagiru muttered as the three started to walk. A small smile found its way onto Yuu's face at the comment. Perhaps if he just ignored the relationship things would be like they used to be, except this time Yuu knew that his chances of ever being with Taiki were cut low.

* * *

><p>When school had ended Yuu was mildly surprised that Kiriha wasn't waiting at the front gates like he did yesterday. Taiki ended up leading Yuu and Tagiru to the park not far from the school where they found Kiriha chatting with Nene on one of the park benches.<p>

Like yesterday Kiriha had his hair tied into a pony while his clothes consisted of black skinny jeans with his standard combat boots and leather belt. He also wore a dark blue muscle shirt with a white vest underneath, the sleeves of the vest falling over his shoulders and black fingerless gloves. His blue Xros Loader was hooked to the back of his belt.

Kiriha looked up when he noticed Taiki and the rest of the group before waving. Yuu felt a stab of jealously run through him when he realized that the wave was more than likely directed at Taiki but he quickly pushed it down.

_Ignore __the __relationship,_ he told himself as they approached the park bench. Taiki flopped himself down next to Kiriha who smiled down at him in the process.

"So how was school?" Kiriha asked the group.

"Same old, same old," Taiki muttered in response before grinning up at the blond, "You're lucky you don't have to go while you're here. You just got to laze around my house and sleep all day."

"He spent the night?" Yuu asked in surprise as another wave of jealously shot through him. Kiriha looked up at Yuu and smiled, but for some reason it looked more like a smirk to the younger boy, before giving a nod.

"Anyway," Nene cut in, noticing her brother's unease of the situation, "Taiki do you think we could show the DigiQuartz area to Kiriha-kun?" Taiki looked over at her and smiled, completely oblivious to the reason behind the change of topic.

"Yeah sure!" he agreed to the idea immediately before turning to Tagiru, "Care to do the honor?" Tagiru's face lit up at the thought of showing off to the rest of the team that he hadn't met yet and nodded vigorously. He pulled out his Xros Loader holding it out in front of him.

"Time Shift!" he exclaimed opening the Digital Gate to the DigiQuartz area. The group of five ran through the portal and into the slightly warped terrain of the area they had just been in. Kiriha took a few steps forward, his boots stepping on the digital moss around them while his eyes looked around the area.

"Well…" he muttered in mild shock, "This is definitely different from the Digital World."

"Isn't it?" Taiki agreed, "It's more like a Digital airspace connected to ours like a mirror."

"So it appears." Kiriha agreed walking to stand next to Taiki. Yuu turned away from the couple. Without thinking he stood next to his sister and grabbed her hand for comfort, something he hadn't done since he was a kid. She didn't question the action, just gave his hand a squeeze.

"So, do we get to see Shoutmon again also?" Nene asked turning her attention to Taiki. He nodded his head before pulling out his Xros Loader.

"Reload, Shoutmon." As he said that a stream of light came out of his Xros Loader and Shoutmon appeared in front of them. The red Digimon grinned up at the older allies.

"Hey! Kiriha! Long time no see!" he greeted the Blue General.

"It has been a while hasn't it?" Kiriha agreed. Shoutmon nodded before turning his attention to Tagiru and Yuu.

"Why don't you let Gumdramon and Damemon out as well?" he suggested. Tagiru nodded at the suggestion before following Taiki's example and reloading Gumdramon. Yuu did as well but not as enthusiastic. Soon afterwards Tagiru suggested going hunting to which Nene and Kiriha agreed. Nene released Sparrowmon from her Xros Loader but Kiriha decided to keep his Digimon in his own.

Yuu followed them silently as Tagiru and Gumdramon ran up ahead of the group excitedly, Gumdramon looking for a scent of a Digimon. Yuu sighed as his gaze moved over to Taiki. Even now, just seeing Taiki stand so close to Kiriha hurt him, but he felt like he could hold back the tears now. It was as if he had cried himself dry already.

"Yuu..?" Yuu blinked and looked down at Damemon who was looking at his partner in concern. Yuu gave a sad smile.

"I'm sorry Damemon," he said quietly so the others couldn't listen in, "I don't mean to make you worry." If anyone, Yuu wouldn't lie to Damemon about his feelings. Damemon was always there for Yuu no matter what. The Digimon smiled at Yuu before speaking up again.

"It's alright," he said, "But feel better soon. Remember frowning is dame dame!"

Yuu couldn't help but giggle. Damemon always found a way to make him feel better, even when he was feeling completely down.

"Yuu look out!" Yuu jumped at the sound of Tagiru's voice looking up just in time to see a Digimon, D'arcmon, fly down with her sword ready to strike. Yuu's eyes widened in fear and he froze, unable to get his feet to move. The next thing he knew he had been thrown out of the way, Ren straddling him.

"Dracumon!" The strange Digimon that was Ren's partner knocked D'arcmon out of the air and onto the ground. Ren quickly scampered off Yuu and followed after his partner.

"You stay out of this, she's mine!" he snapped towards Tagiru. At that point in time both Airu and Ryouma appeared, Astamon jumping down from above and shooting at the Angel Digimon.

"What was that?" Tagiru snapped back. Nene had run over to Yuu and helped him out, Damemon right by his side making sure he was alright. Ren ignored Tagiru's outburst but gave Yuu a side glance.

"Don't get the wrong idea," he said, "The only reason I saved you was 'cause I want that Digimon."

"Ren!" Ryouma called to the other boy. Ren wasted no time in running over towards Ryouma and his group. Tagiru snorted and looked over at Taiki and Yuu.

"Did you hear that?" he snapped, "I don't care what he said I'm gonna catch that Digimon!"

"Just leave it!" Yuu yelled in response before Tagiru could do anything stupid, "D'arcmon was already in a frenzy, they were probably hunting it first."

"But did you hear what he said to you?" Tagiru huffed.

"Yes I did, but it was my own fault for not being more attentive!"

"Why are you sticking up for them?"

"Why don't you watch them instead of yelling at me and learn a few things dumbass!"

Tagiru's mouth snapped shut and he stared at Yuu in shock. No matter how much they argued Yuu had never insulted him like that before. A laugh brought him out of his shock and he turned his attention back to Ryouma and his group. Ren was looking at him in mild amusement, Xros Loader held in front of him with the digital cage above the screen and D'arcmon inside it.

"Too late now." he said in indication to Yuu's suggestion. Tagiru was silent for a moment for his mouth dropped open and he stared in shock at Ren.

"What…? How..? When did…?" he stuttered out unable to process what had just happened.

"That was….fast," Taiki muttered surprised at how quickly they captured the Digimon. Ren smirked smugly and turned to Ryouma and Airu who had walked over to him.

"So that ones yours this time," Ryouma stated to which Ren simply nodded. Airu pouted, putting her arms behind her back.

"I wish we could find more cute Digimon," she muttered, "You two seem to have more luck finding Digimon up your alley."

"Maybe you should lower your standards," Ryouma suggested with a smirk. Airu glared at him and he just looked away though the smirk remained.

"Anyway let's go." Ryouma announced turning around to walk off. Ren and Airu followed suit leaving Taiki's group watching them leave in silent. Yuu bit his lip nervously before running ahead of his group.

"Wait a minute!" he called out to the retreating group. They stopped and looked back at him curiously.

"Thank you…" Yuu said nervously, his eyes on Ren, "Even if your intentions were different you still saved me so…Thanks." Ren silently stared at Yuu after he had finished talking. He turned so he was facing the young blond and walked over to him. Both boys heard Tagiru complaining about Yuu thanking him but chose to ignore it.

"Are you alright?" Ren asked. Yuu blinked in confusion and Ren sighed before flicking his forehead, "I meant after last night. Have you recovered?" Yuu's eyes widened in realization and he quickly looked away.

"Wait a second?" Tagiru cut in, "Are you the reason Yuu was crying? What did you do to him?"

"He didn't do anything!" Yuu snapped in Ren's defense, "He was just there when it happened!"

"I somehow doubt that!" Tagiru argued, "You're the one who doesn't want to talk about it so you could easily be covering for him!"

"On what grounds can you make that statement!" Yuu shot back, "You have no proof!"

"The only proof I need is that they're a bunch of jerks so they would probably do something to any of us!" Yuu's glare intensified at that response before finally losing his cool completely.

"You want to know whose fault it is?" He shrieked taking them all by surprise.

"Yuu calm down!" Nene called out but to no avail.

"It's Taiki-san's!" A shocked silence ran through the group and Taiki's eyes widened in surprise, not expecting to hear that. Yuu's eyes were squeezed shut to try and hold back angry tears while his fists were clenched.

"It has nothing…to do with…" He broke off unable to control his emotions anymore before turning away from both groups and running as far as he could.

"Yuu!" Nene called out following after her brother, Damemon right behind her. The rest of the group followed as well leaving Ren and his friends behind. Ryouma walked up to Ren and placed a hand on his shoulder. Ren looked at the leader of his group before shrugging, the three of them finally heading off.

Yuu simply ran, ignoring his friends' calls and trying to stop calm himself down at the same time. He wasn't on the verge of tears like he was the night before, he was just angry. It was as if all the emotions he had been holding in today were suddenly overpowering him. He was scared of saying something he would regret if he didn't control himself.

The only reason he came to a stop was by tripping on some moss and falling hard on the ground. He slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position but decided against running once more as he heard his sister's footsteps next to him.

"Yuu…?" Nene came up next to him, crouching behind him and placing her hands on his shoulders. Yuu kept his gaze on the ground, refusing to look up. It wasn't until Damemon came into his line of vision that he made any indication that he was aware of his friends' presence. He lifted up a hand and placed it on top of Damemon's head.

"Sorry…" he whispered to his partner.

"Yuu, are you alright?" Nene asked as the others finally caught up. Yuu didn't respond just continued to rub the top of Damemon's head.

"Yuu?" Nene tried again wanting some sort of indication that he was alright. But again there was no response. Nene sighed and turned to look up at Taiki and the others before shrugging. Taiki's face scrunched up in concern before moving to stand in front of Yuu and crouching down.

"Yuu, whatever it is I've done to upset you, please tell me," Taiki begged, "I want to apologize but I need to know what I've done."

"What you've…" Yuu muttered slowly before looking up at Taiki in anger, "You've done everything!"

"I don't-"

"Of course you don't!" Yuu snapped, "You did everything to me that no one else ever did! You saved me! You gave me hope that I'd see Damemon again! You made me stronger by telling me you needed my help! As a General!"

"Then why are you mad at me?" Taiki asked gently, trying to calm Yuu at the same time. Said boy just shook his head and pulled Damemon closer to him.

"Because! ….Because you've been ignoring me! I'm just…I'm just a third wheel right now! When it's you, me and Tagiru you are constantly doting on Tagiru and it feels like I'm not needed anymore! I get that Tagiru needs the help since he's new but even now that I have Damemon back it's like I'm nothing more than back-up! I'm tired of not mattering! And I just want you to trust me! Is that too much to ask?"

"Yuu…" Taiki stared down at the boy in shock, "I didn't…I…I'm sorry I made you feel that way I…what do you mean don't trust you?" Yuu squeezed his eyes shut before answering, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I saw you…" he said, "Last night…I saw you and Kiriha-san…"

Taiki's eyes widened in shock, not sure how to respond to that.

"That was you I heard…?" he asked. Yuu nodded his head.

"Yes," he whispered, "Myself and Ren. I saw him sneaking around and then…" he broke off, chocking back a cry. The last thing he wanted was to cry again.

"What was Ren doing hanging around my house?" Taiki asked. Yuu shrugged.

"He wanted to see if it was true that you and Kiriha-san were dating…I guess."

"Dating?" Tagiru exclaimed in shock. Kiriha shrugged and looked down at the younger goggle boy.

"Got a problem with that?" he asked coolly, not at all affected by the outburst.

"Uh…No I guess not." Tagiru answered. Taiki let out a relieved breath before turning back to Yuu.

"Do you know how they found out in the first place?" he asked still concerned about that bit of information getting out.

"No I don't!" Yuu snapped, "And quite frankly I don't want to talk about this anymore!"

"Yuu I'm sorry I didn't tell you but-"

"But nothing!" Yuu interrupted, "I don't want to deal with it anymore!"

"Yuu-"

"No! Just leave me alone!" He snapped before returning Damemon to his Xros Loader and running from the group once more. He heard them call his name but this time he chose to return to the human world, running through the gate and leaving his friends behind.

Only to run smack into someone upon his return. Just before he fell back, a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back into standing position.

"I'm sorry I didn't see….you…" Yuu trailed off as he stared up at the person he just bumped into. Ren smirked and tilted his head to the side.

"I'm starting to think this is becoming a habit." he joked to which Yuu simply scowled. Ren laughed at his reaction before speaking up again.

"I guess things really haven't been sorted out have they?" he asked. Yuu just looked away deciding against a verbal response. Why he didn't lie to Ren like he did the others, he hadn't figured out but assumed it had something to do with him having been there from the beginning.

"Didn't think so," Ren said before giving a genuine smile, "Care to join us? Ryouma and I were just about to get some ramen."

"What?" Yuu asked in surprise to which Ren just laughed.

"Come on," He said, "Besides you look like you could use someone to talk to." Yuu stared at him, a little unsure about the sudden proposal.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" He asked. Ren shrugged and walked so he was standing next to Yuu but not in the same direction as him.

"We're normal people too you know," He told the blond, "Just because we're on opposing teams doesn't make us any different from you right?"

Yuu turned to look at Ren and the two stared at each other for a moment before finally Yuu gave a small nod.

"Alright." He agreed. Ren smiled before continuing his walk forward, giving a gesture for Yuu to follow. Yuu wasted no time in following. Who knows, perhaps he just needed to talk to someone completely unrelated to these current events to get the problem off his chest.

* * *

><p>So this is where things start to get somewhere. I'd also like to point out that this is where things start taking it's own life, different than whats been revieled so far in the season. I edited this chapter to include sparrowmon thanks to the latest episode but other than that nothings really been changed.<p>

R&R please~


	3. Chapter 3

alright so I know I say this is every chapter but this is where things become a bit fictionized from the actually xros wars universe. I've thrown in some random things with Ren and Ryouma that havent been explained yet in the anime, like where they're from and such so just bare with it? I dunno I was just making things up as I went so yeah.

disclaimer: why do I put this at the beginning of every chapter? It's obvious that I don't own right?

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><p>When they arrived at the Ramen shop Ryouma was sitting at a table waiting for Ren. He looked mildly shocked at the sight of Yuu but shook it off quickly, offering him a smile. Yuu nervously took a seat with Ren at the table before finally noticing that Airu wasn't with them. Apparently Ren took note of that as well because he called out on it.<p>

"Where's Airu?"

"Decided she wanted cake and ice cream instead." Ryouma said with a shrug before looking at Yuu, "Feel free to order something, my treat." Yuu blinked in surprise.

"Really?" He asked. Ryouma nodded and sat back in his seat.

"I usually treat all three of us anyway so it makes no difference if it's you or Airu." He responded before turning to Ren, "I take it you're getting the usual?"

"Tonkotsu Ramen please." Ren said with a nod. Ryouma smiled before looking at Yuu.

"What would you like?" He asked. Yuu was silent for a moment before answering still nervously.

"Um, Shio I guess."

"Boooring!" Ren teased. Ryouma laughed and Yuu half glared half pouted which only caused Ren to laugh.

"He's just teasing," Ryouma said standing up, "Ren's a bit of a smartass so try not to take things too personally."

"Oh gee thanks." Ren muttered sarcastically to which Ryouma just laughed and went to the counter to place the order. It got quiet once he left and Yuu half wondered if he should say anything so things didn't get awkward, but decided that he really wasn't in much of a talking mood.

Now that he had calmed down a bit he felt bad about snapping at Taiki and the others the way he did. He had lashed out at them in a jealous anger and they didn't deserve it, especially not Damemon or his sister. His face fell when he thought of how he had pretty much just kept Damemon off to the side the whole time and decided that he'd apologize later.

His eyes widened a bit in surprise as he felt something placed on his head. Looking over he saw Ren with one of his hands on Yuu's head over top his hat. Yuu blinked before reaching up with both hands and touching the sides on the hat, confusion written on his face.

"Why…?"

"Cheer up, okay," Ren said. Yuu stared at him for a long moment before a ghost of a smile made its way across his face. He nodded, hands still gripping the hat on his head.

"Well this is strange," Ryouma said coming back to the table, "Since when do you let someone else where that hat?" Ren shrugged and looked at his leader as he sat down but didn't say anything about it.

"How long?" he asked instead about the ramen. Ryouma shrugged and leaned against the table on his arms.

"The usual," came the response, "They'll bring it over once it's ready." He then turned his attention to Yuu, "Mind if I ask you something?" Yuu blinked before giving a single nod.

"What is it?" Yuu asked.

"Can you tell me more," Ryouma inquired, "About the war with the Bagra army and what happened?"

"Oh that…?" Yuu muttered before shifting in his seat uncomfortably, "Well what do you want to know?"

"Well we know that Xros Heart was the winning team in the end and what Bagramon was trying to do, but other details of the war are beyond us." Ryouma explained. Yuu blinked before looking downwards and shrugging.

"Well Ren knew about Blue Flare also so I'm assuming you know who the different teams were then?" Yuu asked to which both of the other boys nodded.

"Xros Heart, Blue Flare, Twilight and obviously the Bagra Army right?" Ren inquired. Yuu nodded before continuing.

"Taiki-san was the Red general and the one who joined the war last. Kiriha was with Blue Flare as I'm sure you know, and my sister was the General for Team Twilight. Twilight and Blue Flare were the earliest teams to join the war." Yuu explained.

"But you were a General also right?" Ryouma asked, "What was your team?" Yuu froze at the question before shrugging stiffly.

"It's kind of ironic really…" he muttered before sighing and leaning back in his seat, "I think…if what they said is actually true, I was the first human to use DigiXros in the first place."

"Seriously?" Ryouma looked genuinely shocked by the piece of information and Yuu started to wonder if it was just him that they were lacking information about. He shrugged in response to the question before continuing.

"I was just being used by DarkKnightmon though," He explained, "He exploited my weakness and made me believe I was just playing a game. It's hard to really explain." At this point in time the server had bought their food.

"So then…you were the General for the Bagra Army?" Ren ask stirring his ramen. Yuu nodded solemnly.

"I…did things I'm not proud of so it's not something I like talking about," he said, "But in the end I did help with the defeat of Bagramon so that must count for something right?"

"Of course," Ryouma agreed before eating some of his ramen, "And on another note I guess we have you to thank for what we can now do." He then laughed as a thought ran through his mind, "What would that Tagiru kid do if he found out that you were the first human to ever meet a Digimon?"

"He wouldn't believe it," Yuu stated before laughing, "He's so dense it's irritating! And even if he did believe it I doubt he would show me any respect anyway."

"What, you want us to call you Sempai or something?" Ren joked causing Yuu to choke on his ramen. He coughed before turning to Ren, a small blush covering his cheeks.

"No! I mean we're the same age so just…no!" He shook his head rapidly and Ren simply laughed before reaching over and plucking his hat off Yuu's head.

"I'm kidding," He stated as he put his hat back on. Yuu frowned at the loss of the hat. For some reason it felt comforting to be wearing it.

"Well anyway," Yuu said deciding it was time for a topic change, "You know a bit about me and the others but as far as I know we know next to nothing about all of you." Ryouma smirked and tilted his head to the side.

"This is true," he agreed, "What would you like to know?"

"Well for starters you're not from Koto are you?" Yuu asked. Ryouma shook his head before looking over at Ren. The two exchanged a look before Ren turned to Yuu.

"We're from Nerima," he answered. Yuu blinked in surprise before answering.

"Isn't that a little far?" He asked in surprise. Nerima was just another one of the Special wards in Tokyo the way Koto was and it was quite a ways a way. Both of the other boys shrugged before Ryouma answered this time.

"My parents are paying for me to stay here," He explained, "Ren and Airu, well that's up to them if they want to say anything."

"And school?" Yuu pushed.

"Boring!" Ren complained leaning back against his seat, "I mean what's the point of all of it anyway? Your parents bug you to get good grades and then get upset when you're not at the top of the class. It puts too much stress on kids like us and they don't even let us choose what we want to do with our own lives." Yuu stared at Ren unsure how to respond to that. Judging by the way he spoke about education Yuu couldn't help but assume that Ren came from a rather strict family.

"Well anyways," Ren continued, "We're just kids like you and your friends, except we happen to be rivals, right?"

"Right…" Yuu agreed slowly. After spending this time with them he felt guilty about thinking of them as rivals. They were pretty okay kids in his opinion. Both Ren and Ryouma smiled when they saw the uneasiness cross Yuu's face.

"Would you like to hunt with us tomorrow?" Ryouma suggested causing Yuu to look up at him in mild shock.

"W-What?" Yuu stuttered in response. Ryouma shrugged before continuing.

"Well it's up to you really," he said, "I just figured you'd like some time away from hunting with Tagiru and Taiki. We hunt differently so it may prove educational in a sense."

"Agreed," Ren spoke up. Yuu looked back and forth between the two boys, still unsure on how to answer. On the one hand they were right, he really needed some time away from Taiki and his group. He still wanted to apologize to Taiki but he also needed some time to settle his feelings properly. He thought he could handle himself today and apparently he got that wrong.

But on the other hand who's to say that these guys weren't just using him the same way that DarkKnightmon did. Yuu looked down, debating that last thought. What was different with them and DarkKnightmon was that there wasn't that edge of animosity. It was as if they genuinely wanted his company. He turned his gaze to Ren who was staring intently at him, waiting for an answer.

Finally Yuu nodded to which the other boys smiled in response.

"Well," Ryouma said standing up, "Let me go pay for this and then we'll find Airu and let her know."

"Uh, I do need to go to school though," Yuu mentioned. Ryouma nodded as he turned to walk away.

"We'll wait until you're done." He stated. Yuu nodded his thanks before turning back to Ren.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" he asked. Ren shrugged before finishing the last of his ramen.

"Yeah," He said, "We could use an extra hand every once in a while. In any case I can't say the same about Airu. She's….strange." Yuu laughed and nodded his head in agreement, thinking back to when he first encountered the Cute Hunter. She certainly was a strange one.

"Okay, let's go," Ryouma announced as he arrived back at the table. Ren and Yuu both nodded before standing up and the three of them left the Ramen shop. The conversations afterwards were friendly nonsensical subjects that Yuu often found himself laughing and having a good time with. It was something he had come to miss, ever since Tagiru became a hunter it was like that was all the group talked about. That and basketball. Yuu couldn't help but feel completely at ease with them, though in the back of his mind he was thankful that they hadn't run into Tagiru. The goggle boy would have a fit if he saw Yuu hanging out with Ryouma and the others.

Speaking of fits Airu had a reaction similar to what Yuu imagined Tagiru would do when she saw him with the group. At first she just stared blankly at them before her eyes widened and she pointed at Yuu, dropping her vanilla cone.

"What's he doing here?" She exclaimed. Ren coughed to stop himself from laughing at her and Ryouma just smirked in amusement.

"He's hunting with us tomorrow." He said simply.

"What? Why?" Airu whined clearly against the idea. Ryouma shrugged and looked over at Ren who smirked in response.

"Because we asked him to," Ren answered this time, "Simple as that."

"And you agreed?" Airu asked still in shock. Yuu shrugged and nodded his head, stuffing his hands into his jean pockets in the process.

"Seriously?" Airu pressed. Yuu sighed and nodded his head again.

"Yes, ok," he answered, "I don't feel like being with Taiki and the others right now. End of story."

"Well you did seem pretty angry at them…" Airu agreed slowly, "But why? I don't get it."

"Airu it's really none of your business." Ren cut in. Airu pouted but didn't argue, knowing that she wouldn't win against Ren anyway.

"So it's settled then," Ryouma stated, "Tomorrow when school's done we'll grab Yuu and go hunting."

"I'll get the potato sack," Ren agreed causing Yuu to look at him in confusion.

"What?" He asked. Ren smirked before answering.

"Well would you prefer to be stuffed in a body bag instead?" He asked. Airu burst into a fit of giggles and Ryouma was trying hard not to laugh himself. Yuu gaped at him before smiling and shaking his head.

"You make it sound like you're kidnapping me," he said.

"That's the plan." Ren joked before all for of them simply laughed. Yuu couldn't deny it anymore; it was much more fun with these guys.

* * *

><p>When Yuu got home later he was greeted with a very worried Nene waiting for him the moment he stepped in. He froze as she threw her arms around his neck not sure how to respond. When Nene pulled away she looked sternly down at him though worry was clear in her eyes.<p>

"Where were you?" she asked. Yuu stared at her for a moment unsure of how to respond before shrugging his shoulders and pushing past her.

"Nowhere in particular," he answered. Nene followed him to the stairs and blocking his path.

"That's not an answer Yuu," she said, "None of us could find you anywhere. I know you're upset but can't you at least talk to me?" Yuu sighed before answering her.

"I was with Ren and the others," He said, "I needed time away from Taiki-san so it's not a big deal. I'm sorry that I worried you so please, will you let me go to my room. I haven't even started my homework yet."

"Why were you with them?" Nene asked in confusion. Yuu simply shrugged.

"Because I ran into them, that's why," He answered, "What's the big deal?"

"It's just…I thought you were rivals." Nene responded.

"Perhaps Tagiru is with them and I will admit there are times where we've clashed but outside of the DigiQuartz they're just kids like us," Yuu said with a shrug, "They really aren't that bad."

"So…you're friends now?" Nene inquired. Yuu shrugged again and smiled.

"I don't know," He laughed, "In any case…I'm going hunting with them tomorrow. I need some time away from Taiki and the others." Nene looked surprised at what he just said and Yuu couldn't help but laugh, expecting that sort of response from his sister.

"It's not a big deal Nee-san," Yuu continued, "It's just one hunt. Now can I please go to my room?"

"Ah…sure." Nene said realizing she was still blocking the stairs. She stepped out of the way and Yuu smiled his thanks before running the rest of the way to his room.

* * *

><p>Tagiru sighed as he took his seat in the classroom. The bell was going to ring any minute now and neither him nor Taiki had been able to get a hold of Yuu. Yuu usually met them on the way to school but hadn't showed up this morning. Figuring he got to school earlier Taiki and Tagiru had gone to school but so far there had been no sign of the young blonde.<p>

"Tagiru!" said boy looked up at the sound of his name onto to see Mami staring down at him, though in reality it was more like glaring than staring.

"Where's Yuu-sama?" she asked, or in Tagiru's opinion demanded. Tagiru groaned and let his head fall onto his desk.

"I don't know!" he answered already sensing the oncoming argument.

"Is he sick?" Mami asked in concern.

"He was perfectly healthy yesterday so no, I somehow doubt it." the goggle boy muttered.

"Then where is he?"

"How should I know!" Tagiru snapped in annoyance, "He never met up with me and Taiki this morning so your guess is as good as mine!"

"Did you insult him again?" Mami demanded angrily. Tagiru groaned and banged his head against his desk once more.

"How could he do anything when I haven't even seen him since yesterday afternoon?"

Both Tagiru and Mami stopped their argument and turned to Yuu's desk, seeing the very boy it belonged to standing there and looking at them in confusion. Tagiru stared at him in surprise and Mami smiled happily, clasping her hands together in front of her.

"Yuu?"

"Yuu-sama!"

Yuu rolled his eyes and sat down, ignoring both kids. Tagiru opened his mouth to ask why he was later than usual but unfortunately the bell beat him too it and their teacher walked in. Tagiru sighed and grudgingly turned his attention to the front.

Yuu on the other hand sighed in relief. He had left home late today because he didn't want to talk with Taiki and Tagiru. He knew that he would have to talk to them during lunch and figured that would be a good enough time as any to tell them that he will be hunting with Ren today.

He sighed and looked down at his notebook. It also meant talking to Taiki again and he wasn't sure if he could do that yet.

_I __need __to __apologize__…_ he thought. Nervousness settled into his stomach at the thought and he clenched his fists together on the desk. He knew Taiki wouldn't be mad at him but there was still that spark of fear that Taiki would turn him away, especially if he tells him about the hunt today.

He got brought out of his thoughts as the teacher called on him to answer a question. For now he would just focus on class and think about what to do when the time comes.

* * *

><p>"Yuu!" Tagiru ran up to Yuu's desk when the bell rang for lunch. Yuu turned to look at him but made no indication to run.<p>

"So why did you leave?" Tagiru asked, "I mean did you seriously mean everything you said back there?" Yuu sighed and looked at the young goggle boy boredly.

"Don't you think Taiki-san wants the answers to those questions also?" he asked in return. Tagiru stared at him blankly before realization struck him. Yuu held back a laugh at the look on Tagiru's face before turning around and walking out of the classroom. Tagiru stood there a moment before following after Yuu to the school roof. Once there, they were met with Taiki who was standing against the gate of the roof. He looked over at the two boys and offered a small smile.

Yuu hung back for a moment as Tagiru ran up to his idol before following with less enthusiasm. Taiki looked at Yuu in mild concern as the younger boy approached but only spoke up once he was standing next to him.

"Uh…Yuu…"

"I'm sorry." Yuu interrupted before Taiki could say any more, "I didn't…I mean…" He sighed and looked down, holding onto his elbow nervously, "I didn't mean to hurt you or make you feel uneasy or anything like that…"

"But…did you mean what you said?" Taiki asked. Yuu gave a single nod in response but didn't look up at Taiki. Taiki sighed and rested his arms over the gate and leaning against it.

"Then I'm the one who should apologize," He said causing Yuu to look up at him in shock, "If I made you feel that way it's my job to apologize to you. You had all that bottled up inside you that you just snapped and that's technically my fault."

"But…But I'm the one who got so mad back there!" Yuu said in defense, "You didn't even know why I was upset and I should have told you from the beginning instead of bottling it up!" Taiki gave a gentle smile before reaching over and ruffling the younger boys' hair.

"It doesn't really matter anymore," he said, "What matters is that we've both apologized and I've forgiven you. Do you forgive me?" Yuu stared up at Taiki for a long moment in shock before nodding. Taiki's smile grew at that before giving a sigh of relief.

"I was so scared things were going to be tense between us from now on," he stated, relaxing more against the gate, "You're a good friend so I didn't want to loose that." Yuu gave a small laugh and nodded in agreement.

"So then things are good now right?" Tagiru jumped in.

"Yeah it's good," Yuu confirmed. Tagiru gave a happy yelp, punching his fist into the air.

"Awesome!" he exclaimed, "Now we can go hunting together later!" Taiki laughed at Tagiru's enthusiasm.

"Uhh actually…" Yuu cut in causing both goggle boys to look at him. Yuu shifted nervously on his feet before finally continuing, "I'm uh…going hunting with Ren and them today…" There was a shocked silence that followed after that which was quickly broken by Tagiru.

"What!"

"Well they invited me to and…"

"And you just accepted?" Tagiru exclaimed in shock, "I don't get it! Why would you hunt with our rivals?" Yuu shrugged and rocked himself on the balls of his feet.

"Because….well I just need a bit of space right now and well…" Yuu tried to find the words to explain it before sighing and giving up, "Look it's just one hunt. It isn't going to hurt us."

"But what if they're trying to use you!" Tagiru continued to which Yuu simply groaned and rolled his eyes.

"I'd know, believe me I'd know." he stated.

"And you'd know this how?"

"Tagiru that's enough." Taiki cut in.

"But Taiki-"

"Like Yuu said, one hunt isn't going to hurt any of us," Taiki interrupted before Tagiru could complain more. Tagiru pouted and crossed his arms defiantly.

"Why do you guys hide things from me…" he muttered.

"It's not that we're hiding something from you," Yuu answered, "It's that I'm not ready to tell you what about that certain thing yet."

"Well why not?" Tagiru whined.

"Because it's really not any of your business now is it?" Yuu countered.

"Now, now," Taiki walked in-between the two and smiled nervously, "Let's not start another argument shall we?"

"Fine by me." Yuu muttered crossing his arms. Tagiru sent a glare his way but didn't say anything, mostly because he was interrupted by a glow coming from the roof of the door to the stairs. The three of them looked up in time to see Ren step out of the light and down at them. His eyes met with Yuu's and he grinned.

"I know I said we'd wait until after you're done school but we found a big catch," he said. Yuu stared up at him for a moment before giving a small nod.

"How long do you think it will take?" he asked, "I have about twenty minutes of lunch left."

"That's more than enough time," Ren said with a nod, "Now let's go before we lose it! Ryouma and Airu can only hold it for so long."

"Alright, alright I'm coming!" Yuu laughed before running over to the wall and jumping up two steps. Ren reached down and grabbed his arm, pulling him the rest of the way up before opening the portal to the DigiQuartz once more.

"I'll return him later!" Ren called out as the two ran through the portal. Taiki sighed when it closed and Tagiru stared at the spot blankly before looking at Taiki and pointing.

"What just happened?" he asked. Taiki laughed before sitting down and pulling out his lunch.

"C'mon, let's just eat." he said instead. He stared at his closed lunch, listening as Tagiru sat down as well but dug in happily as he often did when it came to food. Taiki sighed before opening his own.

_I __don__'__t __get __it,_ he thought, _Am __I__…__jealous?_ He shook his head in response to that thought, deciding there was no way that could be the case. Unfortunately he could not shake the strange emotion that had come over him when he saw Yuu run to Ren.

* * *

><p>hey hey hey Taiki? You subconciously noticng your feelings for Yuu now arentcha? lol. On a side note anyone but me getting rather bored of the filler eps? The ones with Akari and Nene were awesome but now we're back to square one where we're wondering, okay wheres the plot again? Not bashing, I love this season just saying, *shrugs*<p>

anyway R&R


	4. Chapter 4

So sorry for the late update but come on, it was christmas! I was busy working on my taikyuu christmas story, All I want for Chirstmas is Yuu, which was my gift to my best friend (and the beta too all my xros wars stories) Anime Master ZERO. Anyway on that topic the main portion of the fight scene in the beginning here goes to him. the main idea and a bit of the writing was his doing, since I seriously suck at fight scenes...like badly. also on a aside note I use the JPN term for Super Evolution so they say Chou Shinka instead.

anyway, same old same old Digimon isn't mine, yada yada yada. Enjoy the next chappy~

* * *

><p>"So where to?" Yuu asked once he and Ren had made their way into the DigiQuartz. Ren smiled and grabbed Yuu's hand before jumping down with the blond to the ground. Yuu followed, not like he had a choice really with Ren gripping his hand the way he was. A small blush found its way onto his face but he quickly shook his embarrassment off as they arrived where Ryouma and Airu where watching their partners battle. Yuu's eyes widened upon arrival.<p>

"Skull Greymon?" He exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah," Ren nodded before turning his attention to Yasyamon who had been battling with the others while Ren had gone to fetch Yuu, "Yasyamon stop slacking off!" His partner simply nodded and jumped back into the battle. Ryouma took a few steps back to stand next to Yuu, but kept his eyes on the battle.

"A little help would be much appreciated," he said calmly. Airu, overhearing the comment looked back at them and glared.

"We don't need his help!" she snapped. At the same time Cho-Hakkaimon went flying right past her and into a building. Yuu smirked and looked at Ryouma.

"So she claims," he laughed before pulling out his Xros Loader, "Reload, Damemon! _Chou Shinka_!" As he called for his Digimon the light glowed brighter and Tsuwamon appeared instead of Damemon. Tsuwamon looked down at Yuu in curiosity, wanting to confirm that Yuu was sure with this. Yuu simply smiled up at him and nodded giving Tsuwamon the okay to enter the battle.

"Surround him from all directions!" Ryouma instructed. The four Digimon quickly followed the order, Cho-Hakkaimon and Tsuwamon taking the back while Astamon and Yasyamon took the front. Yasyamon took a running leap at Skull Greymon lifting his swords above him and smashing them down on the skeletal Digimon's head. At the same time Astamon pulled out his guns and started shooting at him forcing Skull Greymon backwards.

"Tsuwamon! Now!" Yuu called out at the same time Airu demanded Cho-Hakkaimon to attack as well. Both Digimon followed their partner's orders, Tsuwamon attacking from above while Cho-Hakkaimon ran full force with her weapon raised only to be knocked to the side by Skull Greymon's tail. Airu shrieked angrily before yelling at her partner.

"What is wrong with you, Cho-Hakkaimon?" she snapped, "Stop fooling around and fight!"

"Maybe if you went after stronger Digimon she wouldn't be such a weakling," Ren stated with a smirk.

"What was that?" Airu snapped causing Ren to snicker.

"Enough fighting you two," Ryouma called over, "This isn't working we need to figure something out."

Yuu watched the battle calmly moving to keep his eyes on Tsuwamon but also focusing on his, for now, comrades' Digimon. A thought occurred to him and he quickly turned to Ryouma.

"Bait him!" he yelled catching the others attention. Yuu then pointed to the missile on Skull Greymon's back, "We need to get him to launch that. I have an idea!" Ryouma smiled, catching on to Yuu's plan before turning to look at his other two comrades.

"You heard him," he stated, "Let's get this going." Ren nodded in agreement before running in the direction of where Yuu was. Tsuwamon, already aware of what Yuu's plan was, quickly backed away from Skull Greymon and around to the front.

"Astamon! You and Cho-Hakkaimon act as the bait!" Ryouma demanded of his Digimon.

"Why should Cho-Hakkaimon act as bait?" Airu complained, "That stupid Ninja Digimon should be the bait!"

"Stop complaining and follow orders!" Ren snapped. Airu pouted but turned her attention back to the battle, knowing that she couldn't argue against her comrades. Cho-Hakkaimon didn't seem too happy about the idea either, scowling over at Tsuwamon who completely ignored her.

Astamon took the initiative shooting once more at Skull Greymon but from all angles, pelting the Digimon with bullets. Cho-Hakkaimon let out a war cry and ran once more at Skull Greymon, jumping up and bringing her weapon down on his head. Skull Greymon stumbled back a few steps, disorientated from the two different attacks. Shaking its head to clear the confusion it let out a loud roar and turned its angry eyes to its attackers.

Cho-Hakkaimon froze when Skull Greymon looked at her. She quickly scrambled backwards and grabbed a hold of Tsuwamon, shoving him in front of her as a shield.

"You fight it!" she cried out fearfully.

"What?" Tsuwamon turned his head to stare at Cho-Hakkaimon in disbelief but didn't get a chance to retort back, hearing the missile on Skull Greymon's back prepare to launch. He turned back to his adversary just as Skull Greymon activated its Ground Zero attack, sending the Missile flying towards Tsuwamon and Cho-Hakkaimon. The pig-like Digimon screamed and grabbed Tsuwamon tightly, shaking him from side to side.

"Let! GO!" Tsuwamon snapped finally pushing Cho-Hakkaimon off of him just before the missile arrived. Acting quick Tsuwamon caught the oncoming missile, being pushed back by the force of it before throwing it up. Astamon jumped up after the missile raising his foot in the process.

"_Maverick!_" He exclaimed landing a dark energy filled kick to the missile and sending it flying right back towards Skull Greymon. It hit Skull Greymon and exploded creating a huge cloud of dust in the process. The kids all braced themselves against the wind and dust that blew around them from the explosion.

When the dust cleared they saw Skull Greymon still standing but only barely, losing its balance backwards but somehow managed to stay upright. Yasyamon took action then, running over and slashing at its legs with his bokkens, succeeding in Skull Greymon finally losing his balance.

As the large skeletal Digimon fell backwards neither Digimon nor human noticed Ren still standing in the way of the fall. Ren's eyes widened and he stumbled a few steps backwards in fear.

"Ren!" At the same time his name was called Ren felt himself being pushed out of the way of Skull Greymon. He landed hard on the ground, and if that wasn't enough to startle him, the weight of another on top succeeded in knocking his breath away. He gasped a few times in order to regain his lost breath and whoever had knocked him out of the way was coughing as well.

When Ren looked up he was greeted with Yuu smiling down at him in amusement but also out of breath.

"Looks like we're even." Yuu laughed. Ren stared at him for a moment before a small blush made its way across his face. He looked away in embarrassment covering the bottom half of his face with his arm.

"Can you…get off?" he asked. Yuu blinked in mild confusion before nodding and getting up sitting on the ground next to him. Ren leaned up on his arms just as Airu and Ryouma run over towards them.

"Are you alright Ren?" Ryouma asked. Ren simply nodded and stat up properly, grabbing Yuu's hand for leverage.

"Let's focus back on the fight." he said. The others nodded in agreement before turning their attention back to the battle at hand. Astamon aimed and shot at the heart that was now exposed thanks to Skull Greymon having fallen on his back. Tsuwamon got ready to attack, raising his kamas only to be hit from behind by a laser.

"Airu!"

"Not my fault he got in our way," the blonde scoffed. Cho-Hakkaimon lowered her hand and laughed along with her partner. The former's laughter was brought to an immediate halt when she suddenly yelled in pain.

"You. Sit," was all Astamon said as he lowered his smoking Tommy gun.

"Your partner shot Cho-Hakkaimon in the foot!" Airu screamed.

Ryouma just shrugged. "I don't control my Digimon's actions."

"Just shut up, you stupid bitch!" Ren called from the other side of the battlefield as he and Yuu picked themselves up. "Yasyamon!"

"Tsuwamon!"

Tightening their hands around their weapons, the two Digimon jumped into the air toward the fallen Skull Greymon and plunged them deep into the massive beast's heart. Skull Greymon roared in great pain for a few short moments before finally ceasing as data rings appeared around him and his body disintegrated into countless bits.

Ren held out his Xros Loader and the image of Skull Greymon appeared trapped inside a digital cage. He smiled triumphantly and turned to his comrades.

"That was close but we won." He stated. Yuu and the others nodded in agreement and Yuu couldn't help but give a happy laugh, causing the rest of them to look at him in mild confusion.

"Sorry," He said nervously, "It's just this is the first time I've actually been useful to something in a long time."

"Probably because Taiki relies a lot on Tagiru now, correct?" Ryouma inquired. Yuu looked down sadly and nodded.

"Hey…You helped us," Ren piped up catching the blonds' attention, "Even though Airu was being a bitch most of the time."

"What the heck's that supposed to mean?" Airu snapped in annoyance.

"Maybe because you and Cho-Hakkaimon kept causing trouble because of a stupid grudge?" Ren snapped in return. Airu opened her mouth to retort but Ryouma beat her to it.

"Yuu how much longer until your lunch break is over?" he asked. Yuu blinked in mild surprise, having completely forgotten about that factor.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Twelve-thirty." Ryouma answered taking a look at his watch. Yuu groaned and slapped his palm against his forehead.

"Lunch is over," he muttered before sighing and giving a shrug, "Well, whatever. It's healthy to skip class every once in a while."

"Sounds good to me." Ren said with a smile, "So how about we go celebrate this victory with our new comrade?"

"Since when were you the cheerful one?" Airu mocked, crossing her arms defiantly.

"We got ramen last time," Ryouma cut in, ignoring Airu, "How about we get something else instead today?"

"Sounds good to me," Ren agreed with a nod before turning to Yuu, "Anywhere in particular you wanna go?"

"Seriously, why is he being so considerate all of a sudden?" Airu asked turning to Ryouma. Her group leader simply smiled and shrugged in response to which Airu pouted. Yuu crossed his arms and hummed in thought before looking at the group.

"There's this really great ice cream parlour by my house," he suggested, "How about we go there?"

"Ice Cream~!" Airu cheered jumping up happily. Yuu gave her an incredulous look before turning to Ren.

"Is she bipolar?" he asked.

"I wonder that myself…" Ren sighed.

* * *

><p>It didn't take long for the group of four to head over to the ice cream parlour that Yuu had suggested, each getting a cone. Afterwards they wandered aimlessly around the shops that lined the street while Airu happily ate her cone. Yuu stared at her in confusion, or more specifically the ice cream to which she had purchased.<p>

"I seriously didn't peg you as the Lychee kind of girl." He finally said. Airu laughed and turned to look at the other blond.

"Lychee is my all time favourite flavour!" She exclaimed happily, "I have to try it whenever I go to a new place."

"I seriously thought you'd go for strawberry though," Yuu laughed.

"Like you?" Ren asked indicating to Yuu's flavour of choice. A small blush crossed Yuu's face at that comment.

"It's btrawberry banana thank you very much." He shot back in defense before laughing, "I think the strangest is Ryouma though. Seriously, bubble gum?" Ryouma shrugged before pointing at Ren's.

"Rainbow sherbet," was all he said, causing Yuu to laugh even harder.

"Okay I have to agree, I was _not_ expecting that!" he exclaimed. Ren blushed and turned away.

"Oh shut it," he muttered. Before anymore comments could be thrown out Airu gave an excited shriek, running over to one of the shops to where a stack of magazines were sitting. She lifted one up and before giggling and jumping up and down happily.

"Nene-sama! She's on the cover again!" She squealed. Yuu blinked in confusion before walking over to the hyperactive girl and staring at the magazine cover. Sure enough his sister was once again being featured.

"You're a fan?" Yuu asked turning his gaze to Airu. The girl in question nodded vigorously before hugging the magazine close.

"What I wouldn't give to meet her~!" she exclaimed. Yuu stared at her in disbelief this time before turning to Ren and Ryouma.

"Did she not notice?" He asked them pointing at Airu. Ryouma sighed and shrugged while Ren simply laughed.

"I guess not." Ren answered.

"Notice what?" Airu asked catching Yuu's attention once more. The blond boy just stared at her, still in disbelief.

"Yesterday? In the DigiQuartz?" he hinted to which Airu just stared at him blankly.

"I don't believe this…" Yuu muttered. Airu pouted.

"Believe what?" she asked, "What aren't you telling? As far as I saw yesterday you just snapped at Taiki. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Do you wanna come over?" Yuu asked in response turning to look at all three Hunters. That took all of them by surprise, staring at him with wide eyes.

"S-Seriously?" Ren asked being the first to break the silence. Yuu shrugged and nodded slipping his now ice cream free hands in his pants pockets.

"Won't your parents be upset that you're not in school?" Ryouma inquired. Yuu smiled and shook his head.

"My parents are travelling abroad so I live by myself. Right now my sister is visiting for a little bit though," he explained, "And she won't be that upset."

"She won't?" Ren asked in disbelief. Yuu shrugged again before answering.

"Doubt it," he said, "She skipped a lot when she went to school so it would be hypocritical if she scolded me."

"Then let's go!" Airu exclaimed, pumping a fist into the air, "But first I wanna buy this." She quickly ran into the store leaving the others standing there in amusement. Ryouma rolled his eyes and followed her.

"Why's he going?" Yuu asked looking at Ren. Ren laughed and shrugged.

"He's got the money." he answered. Yuu gave a sound of acknowledgement before moving to lean against the store wall and wait for Airu and Ryouma to return. It didn't take long and soon the four of them made the short walk back to Yuu's apartment. Once there Airu made some comment about how expensive that particular complex was which Yuu simply waved off, already used to that type of reaction. It didn't take much longer for them to reach Yuu's condo, unlocking it and letting his three new friends in.

"Nee-san! I'm home early!" He called.

"Yuu? Why? did something happen?" Nene asked coming down the stairs from the study. Airu's mouth dropped and her eyes widened in shock. Yuu smirked back at the frozen girl before turning to his sister and shrugging.

"No not really," he answered, "I went to hunt with them at lunch and it lasted longer than we thought."

"Ah…so you came home then?" Nene inquired to which Yuu simply nodded. Nene smiled then turned to the rest of his group, "So you are the other Hunters right? Ryouma, Ren, and Airu?"

"She knows us?" Airu exclaimed in shock before looking at Ryouma and Ren, "She knows who we are! How does Nene-sama know us?"

"Maybe because she's Yuu's older sister?" Ren suggested in a mocking tone before taking his shoes off and walking into the apartment.

"Nice to meet you." Ryouma greeted offering a small bow. Nene smiled and returned the bow before turning to Airu in amusement.

"I'm assuming you're a fan, Airu-chan?" she stated more than asked. Airu nodded rapidly with a huge smile plastered to her face. Yuu could have sworn he saw hearts in her eyes.

"Well come on in," Nene said, "There's plenty of room." All five of them walked into the living room and sat down, Yuu quickly running into the kitchen and grabbing something to snack on first.

"So Nene-sama, you were a General in the war with the Bagra Army?" Airu asked sitting as close to her idol as she could. Nene gave a small laugh and a single nod of her head before answering.

"Yes I suppose," she said, "My team, Team Twilight, was mostly on recon. I gathered a lot of the information."

"So what Digimon do you have?" Ren inquired. Yuu sat down next to him at this point, setting a bowl of chips on the coffee table in front of them. Nene shrugged, leaning forward to grab some chips, before answering.

"Mostly Monitamon. My main Digimon are Sparrowmon and Mervamon though." She replied. Ren's mouth dropped open in surprise then and he stood up in shock.

"You have a Mervamon?" He exclaimed. Nene looked up at him in confusion by his reaction before giving a single nod. Ren continued to gape at her but sat down.

"L-Lucky…" he finally said, "What I wouldn't give for even a Minervamon."

"You're the Rare Hunter right?" Nene inquired. Ren nodded his head.

"We all have our preferences, mine just so happens to be Rare Digimon." He responded before turning to Airu and Ryouma, "Airu is the Cute Hunter and Ryouma likes the strong ones."

"Come to think of it the last two hunts you got the Digimon." Airu muttered. Ren simply shrugged in response, choosing against a verbal answer.

"Which is fine really," Ryouma spoke up, "D'arcmon wasn't exactly that rare but not all of Ren's Digimon are rare anyway. I would have liked that D'arcmon but Ren claimed it first."

"And then Skull Greymon today…" Airu trailed off looking upwards. She then shrugged and smiled, "Well whatever, I'd say that was a pretty rare catch, but also really strong. I'm surprised you two don't fight over Digimon half the time."

"We have a better understanding of each other than that," Ryouma stated simply. Ren smirked before commenting himself.

"We've known each other longer, unlike someone who recently joined." Airu blinked in confusion, her gaze turning first to Yuu who looked just as confused as she did before realizing that Ren was talking about her.

"Hey!" she snapped, "I'm not that new! I've known you guys for a while now, before we even started hunting." Ren laughed, pleased to have once again riled up Airu. Ryouma simply rolled his eyes before grabbing some of the chips on the table and turning back to Nene.

"So can you tell us more about your roll in the war?" he asked, seemingly very interested the topic. This caught Airu's attention and she turned to look at Nene expectantly, wanting to hear everything her idol had to say. Nene nodded her head before continuing on her explanation, which Yuu didn't stick around for. As soon as the question was asked he got up and walked over to the large glass wall, finding the door in the window and opening it to walk out onto the balcony.

"Dark already…" he muttered staring up at the near black sky. He leaned against the balcony edge and sighed, his gaze moving from the sky to the city lights below. Today had been a very successful and satisfying day so far, something he hadn't thought since he had gotten Damemon back and it was all thanks to Tagiru's rival hunters.

Yuu couldn't think of them as his rivals anymore, not after spending nearly two days with them, or Ren specifically. He gave a small smile as Ren popped into his head. As much of a jerk as he came off as, it seemed like Ren was actually a very nice person. At least to him it seemed.

"I wonder why…" he muttered to himself.

"Why what?" the sound of a voice behind him took Yuu by surprise, turning around so he could see who had walked in on his musings.

"Ren?" He asked in mild confusion, "I thought you were listening to the story." Ren shrugged before moving to stand next to Yuu, leaning against the balcony railing as well.

"I was, but it just seemed like repetition after a while, but from different view points," he answered, "Anyway what were you mumbling to yourself about?" Yuu gave a small blush and shrugged, not really wanting to let Ren know that it was him he had been thinking about. Ren took the silence as a negative response, giving a small frown.

"Taiki?" He inquired. Yuu blinked in surprised before shaking his head.

"I haven't thought about him all day actually…" he muttered surprising himself in the matter. Usually Taiki was always on his mind, whether he wanted him to be or not. Ren smiled at that response before pulling out his Xros Loader.

"Good," He said before turning to Yuu, "Bring out your Xros Loader."

"Why..?" Yuu asked in confusion. Ren smiled but didn't answer. When Yuu realized that he wasn't going to get a response he sighed and pulled his Xros Loader out of his pocket, holding it out in front of him to Ren. Ren fiddled with the settings on his own Xros Loader before lining it up with Yuu's and pressing the centre button. There were a few beeping noises as both screens lit up before a Digital Cage with Skull Greymon inside appeared above Yuu's Xros Loader.

The blond stared at it in shock as Ren pulled his own Xros Loader away, smiling at him and placing it back in his pocket.

"What…why are you..?" Yuu stuttered out, still staring at his new Digimon. Ren shrugged before leaning backwards against the balcony.

"Because I felt like it." he said simply. Yuu looked at him in shock and Ren simply laughed before pushing off the railing.

"Let's go back inside." He suggested to which Yuu gave a single nod and followed, slipping his own Xros Loader back into his pocket. When they arrived inside they saw Nene walking towards the front door, Yuu instantly realizing that someone must have come by. He froze when he was greeted with the sight of Taiki and Kiriha standing in the now open doorway.

Taiki's smiled at Nene before he and his boyfriend walked into the apartment before his gaze ran over Ryouma, Ren and Airu. He blinked in mild shock before turning to Yuu.

"How come they're over..?" he asked in confusion. Yuu stiffened and shrugged in response unconsciously taking a step over to Ren.

"I invited them. Is that wrong?" Yuu asked in response. Taiki gave an uneasy smile and shook his head.

"No, of course not," he answered, "It's you're house after all," He then looked over at Kiriha, "I guess you haven't actually been introduced to them. These are the other Hunters, Ryouma, Ren and Airu." Kiriha smiled and gave a single nod, turning to the younger Hunters.

"Nice to meet all you I suppose," he greeted. Ren and Ryouma simply nodded in response while Airu stared at him in confusion.

"Why are you-" Before she even finished her sentence Ryouma's hand was over her mouth. He quickly stood up, dragging the other girl up with him and walked towards the stairs laughing nervously.

"We'll uh…be right back." He laughed before dragging Airu up the stairs and into the study, closing the door behind them. Yuu, Nene and Taiki all watched in confusion, Yuu eventually turning to Ren.

"What was that about?" he asked. Ren simply shrugged and looked up at the fog glass windows that served as the walls to the study.

"Well at least we know nothing inappropriate is going on up there," Nene stated before turning back to Taiki and Kiriha, "Well let's have a seat while we wait for them to finish their conversation."

"Shall I start dinner?" Yuu suggested placing his hands behind his back.

"Sure," Nene agreed with a nod, "Would you like some help?" Yuu smiled and shook his head before heading towards the kitchen.

"No thanks, I can manage." he answered. At that point in time Ryouma and Airu immerged from the study, Ryouma in the lead and Airu following looking very confused.

"Everything alright?" Ren asked as his comrades came back down the stairs. Ryouma nodded and Airu turned her confused gaze to Yuu.

"Yuu…You're…You're g_ay_!" she finally exclaimed in shock. Whatever utensils Yuu had just picked up in the kitchen fell to the ground, his eyes widening in shock and embarrassment. Ren and Ryouma both face palmed and Taiki looked at Yuu in surprise.

"What?" Taiki asked pointing at Yuu, also in shock. Yuu's face turned bright red but was unable to find any words to respond to the predicament he was suddenly thrown into.

"I think it's time we go…" Ryouma muttered before grabbing Airu again but this time heading to the door, "Sorry Yuu."

"Can that girl anymore intrusive…?" Ren complained once they had left. No one replied, instead Taiki walked up to Yuu, a grin making it's way onto his face as he grabbed on of Yuu's arms, pulling the younger boy towards him.

"You're really gay?" he asked. Yuu's blush deepened as he looked up at Taiki who was staring down at the boy in amusement.

"I-I…I mean…well…uh…" he stuttered. Taiki laughed and was about to say something when Ren cut in grabbing Yuu out of his grip and wrapping his arms around Yuu's shoulders, glaring over at the goggle boy.

"Don't you think you've done enough damage as it is?" he snapped causing Taiki to stare at him in confusion.

"What…?" Ren smirked at Taiki's response holding the blond closer to him.

"You don't have to worry about Yuu anymore," he said, "I'll take care of him."

"R-Ren?" Yuu stared at the blue haired boy in shock. Ren just smiled at him in response before letting go and walking to the door.

"I understand that wasn't my place but you can't really blame me for getting upset can you?" Ren asked as he slipped his shoes on. Yuu stared at him blankly for a moment before a soft smile found its way onto his face.

"Thanks…" he said causing Ren to look back at him in confusion, "I mean for today. I had fun." Ren smiled at that before turning so he was facing him.

"See you tomorrow?" he asked. Yuu smiled and nodded his head.

"Sure," he agreed. Ren nodded his head before turning around walking out the door, offering Yuu a wave as he left. Yuu wrapped his arms around his middle smiled, his eyes still on door even though Ren had already left. For some reason Ren sticking up for him the way he did made Yuu feel really happy and somewhat giddy.

"Looks like he likes you." Kiriha spoke up, catching the younger blonde's attention. Yuu looked back at him, a small blush on his face and smiled before giving a shrug.

"Maybe…I don't know," he responded with a small laugh. He turned to walk back into the kitchen, picking up what he had dropped earlier.

"Are you...okay with that?" Taiki spoke up, leaning uneasily against the back of the couch. Yuu blinked and turned to look at Taiki. It might have been his imagination but he could have sworn he saw a flicker of jealousy in the goggle boy's face. He pushed the thought away and shrugged in response to the question.

"It doesn't really matter, does it?" he asked instead, "But…are you alright? I mean Ren said some pretty silly things there."

"Does he know what's been happening?" Taiki inquired. Yuu looked down guiltily and shrugged.

"He's been there since I first snapped so he's just easy to talk to…I guess," he answered, "I'm sorry if that bugs you." Taiki shook his head before smiling at him.

"You need someone to talk to so if that's who it is then I don't mind," he answered. Yuu smiled and nodded.

"Well let me start with dinner," he said pushing up imaginary sleeves and starting on the food. Taiki smiled at his enthusiasm before looking downwards, his smile fading. Ren's words got to him, it almost seemed like he was challenging Taiki to try and take Yuu. He felt slight anger at that, wanting nothing more than to run out after Ren and demand to know what was going on.

"Taiki." He looked up at the sound of his name being called, only to see Kiriha looking down at him in mild concern. Taiki smiled up at him reassuringly, reaching up and patting Kiriha's shoulder.

"I'm fine, sorry," he said. Kiriha nodded, wrapping an arm around Taiki's shoulder before leading him into the living rooms so the two of them and Nene could talk while waiting for dinner. Still Taiki couldn't shake the jealousy he felt because of Ren.

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><p>Oh Yeah Ren went there, uh huh! 8D sorry I'm just a little excited for the next episode with the Hunter Gathering or something like that. I watch the raws so I've already seen episode 6712 which ever you go by. It looks like things are finally starting to pick up which makes me happy~!

Anyway back to the story! Things are kinda gonna go Ren/Yuu alot from here. developing much farther in the next chapter. again, since not much has been revieled thus far most of what I'm writing is just guess work/fiction. Anyway R&R please~


	5. Chapter 5

ksjfhsfhlasdka I'm sorry! I keep forgetting to update this thing! The new episodes have had me completely distracted ^^;;; so yeah, since the plot is slowly coming out in the series this is definitely showing that its going different from it. anyway, this is where things finally start to work out with Ren and Yuu so I hope you enjoy it. oh and I almost forgot, TagiRyou is pretty evident in this chappy. it had to come out ^^

anyway as per usual, thanks to my Beta's, since I now technically have two of them. you guys rock and I love you lots!

can I just skip the disclaimer cause we all know I don't own digimon, else this is where the current series would be going 8D

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><p>Yuu stood in the empty basket ball court, leaning lazily against the fence around it. There was no school today and he, Taiki and Tagiru were going to be practicing for the upcoming match that was happening tomorrow. Yuu had woken up rather early today and in a surprisingly good mood. The next thing he knew he had ended up arriving at the court earlier than the agreed time.<p>

Yuu sighed and slid down the fence, crouching against it before looking up at the sky. His mind kept wondering back to the previous night and Ren's declaration in front of Taiki and everyone else. A smile made its way onto his face as he thought about it once more, something he wasn't able to repress every time it popped into his head.

Deciding there was no point in just sitting around boredly, Yuu picked up the basketball he had brought with him and lazily started dribbling down the court. He figured the best way to stop thinking about Ren was to keep his mind occupied with something else.

He turned across the court, staring at the basketball net in determination before crouching down low. He let his mind do the rest, imagining adversaries in his path before taking off, dribbling the ball quickly down the court. Continuing with his illusion he moved around like he was avoiding contact with other players before reaching the net. Grabbing the ball with both hands he jumped and threw it, watching as the ball sailed through the air and straight for the net.

He smiled at his soon to be goal, but that soon disappeared as a different set of hands appeared and knocked the ball out of its path to victory. Yuu followed the ball as it bounced a few times before rolling to a stop at the fence. He blinked and looked back up towards the net, only to see Ren standing there grinning smugly, hands shoved back into his sweater pockets.

"Ren..?" Yuu stared at him in surprise and Ren simply laughed.

"Did I interrupt you?" he joked knowing full well he had. Yuu laughed and rolled his eyes before placing his hands on his hips in a rather girlish manner.

"No, of course not," he responded sarcastically before walking over to the ball and picking it up.

"So what's this about?" Ren asked, "Don't have anyone to play with?" Yuu shook his head and walked back over to Ren.

"I play street basketball with Taiki-san and Tagiru. We have practice today. I just got here early." he explained.

"So you decide to play by yourself while you wait then?" Ren asked, raising and eyebrow questioningly. Yuu shrugged and dribbled a few times on the spot. Ren watched silently before closing his eyes and giving a single laugh. The next thing Yuu knew the ball had been slapped out of his hands and Ren was running down the court with it, heading to the opposite net.

Yuu stood there for a moment before laughing and running after him. The two boys continued like this for a while, enjoying there one-on-one basketball game and not really caring about scores. Eventually Yuu fell down to the ground, leaning back against his arms and laughing while Ren stood above him still, holding the basketball.

"What, finished already?" Ren teased. Yuu grinned up at him, cheeks flushed from all the running he had just done before giving a breathless laugh.

"Just give me a minute, okay?" he asked. Ren shrugged before turning his gaze back to the net and throwing the ball, it falling through the net easily. Yuu watched silently as Ren picked the ball back up and continued to shoot it. After the third time the ball fell through the net Yuu finally spoke up again.

"You know, I never thought you'd be into basketball," he stated. Ren simply shrugged before shooting the ball again, having the same results as the previous three shots.

"I'm not really; I just got good at it because of Ryouma," he explained.

"Ryouma plays?" Yuu asked. Ren laughed and shook his head.

"No that's not it," he said before his face got serious. He stared at the ball in his hands for a moment before taking another shot, "Ryouma and I…went to the same Elementary School. He was always at the top of the class….top of our grade actually, and he barely had to try with anything he did." he sighed, picking up the ball once more, repeating the pattern only this time it hit the edge of the net, bouncing back at him.

"My parents were always telling me to try harder and get better grades. It didn't matter that I was still in the top ten, and that's without studying to be honest, but it was never good enough. Eventually they started comparing me to Ryouma…I hated him."

"You mean he was your adversary?" Yuu inquired watching as Ren missed another shot. Yuu started to wonder if perhaps this topic was a distracting one for him.

"Yeah, pretty much," Ren responded, "I mean, you see the way Ryouma is right? Cool, like completely cool. Hardly anything can make him lose his temper and he's always so calm about things. He's been like that since we were kids, and I guess…he's never had to work hard to get to where he is. I began trying to surpass him but not out of admiration the way Tagiru is with Taiki."

"Are you jealous?" Yuu asked uneasily, not sure how Ren would react to that. To his relief Ren gave a laugh and dunked the ball.

"Maybe back then I was, but after getting to know him it went away. Ryouma's become one of my best friends," he answered.

"Can I ask…how did it happen? Like when did you two become friends?" Yuu inquired. A part of him wondered if maybe he was over stepping his boundaries and asking too much but when Ren smiled he knew it was okay.

"My parents were yelling at me as usual about my grades, but in the school. They kept saying that I'll never be able to take over the family business and go into Business Management if I didn't start improving," Ren explained, "Then they brought up Ryouma and how much better he was. None of us noticed he was there until he spoke up. He bitched them out actually, it was kind of funny."

"You mean he got angry?" Yuu asked in confusion. Ren laughed and nodded his head.

"Believe me Yuu, that guy is scary when he's mad." he stated, dunking yet another ball.

"The calm ones usually are," Yuu laughed, finally standing up off the ground, "So I'm assuming you don't want to get into your family business right? Then what do you want to do?"

Ren stopped mid-shot and looked at Yuu for a moment, his expression seemingly unsure before shrugging and turning back to the net.

"A pilot," he said throwing the ball one more. This time Yuu's eyes were on Ren instead of the ball, watching the light from the sun spread over his body and glistening the sweat on his face and neck.

Yuu gulped.

"That…suits you better…I think," Yuu said nervously, turning his gaze at anything except Ren. Ren looked at Yuu in confusion, this time not going after the ball, "At least you know what you want to be," Yuu continued, "I still don't know yet. But I figured, since I only just started Junior High I have time to decide."

"Your parents don't decide for you?" Ren asked in mild confusion. Yuu closed his eyes and smiled, turning his face downwards.

"They're never home," He answered, an edge of sadness to his voice, "Ever since Nee-san debuted they've been travelling abroad so I never see them. I'm pretty much alone at home." Silence passed through the two of them then, neither one knowing what to say afterwards. Ren stared blankly at Yuu for a long moment, the latter's posture not changing, before walking up to him and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Yuu?" The blond looked up at the sound of his name, only to blush as he realized how close they were standing. The two were practically nose to nose. If Ren realized this it apparently did not bug him because the next thing Yuu knew Ren's lips were on his. Yuu's eyes widened and he pulled back instantly staring up at Ren in shock and embarrassment. Ren looked a little surprised at the rejection, apparently not expecting it.

"I-I…Ren what…?" Yuu stuttered out. Ren's eyes shifted to the side nervously, his shoulders dropping slightly.

"Sorry…I guess I just thought…" He trailed off taking a small step back. Yuu grabbed his hand, stopping him from moving away.

"Ren…You're a nice guy and…and I do like you," Yuu admitted a small blush making its way onto his face, "It's just that…this is a rebound Ren. I don't want to have a rebound relationship. Someone always gets hurt in those."

Ren moved forwards once more before reaching over and cupping Yuu's face in both of his hands and leaning towards him, resting his forehead against Yuu's.

"Perhaps, but I still want to try," Ren said softly, "Even if this is a rebound now it may change later on. Or maybe it won't, but I'm willing to try if you are."

Yuu stared at Ren unsurely, a small amount of fear and nervousness gathering in his stomach. Ren's words were sweet and tempting and with such little space between them Yuu was having a hard time thinking up a reasonable answer. Without giving it much thought Yuu leaned forward and closed the gap between them, giving Ren a chaste kiss on the lips to which the latter returned instantly, wrapping his arms around the blonds' waist possessively.

"Aww, how cute!" Yuu's eyes snapped open and he pulled away from Ren in an instant. Both boys looked up in shock, Yuu also in embarrassment, at the entrance to the basketball court. Airu stood there, one hand over her mouth and giggling while Ryouma still had that smug smirk on his face that always seemed to be there.

Yuu felt his face heat up in embarrassment before hiding his face in his hands.

_This cannot be happening!_ he thought to himself. Next to him Ren sighed and placed a hand on his hips.

"Just how long of you two been there?" he asked boredly.

"Just long enough to see the kiss." Airu giggled, skipping up to them. Ryouma followed more calmly.

"And it's a good thing we came anyway," the silver haired boy stated, "Taiki and Tagiru are almost here too."

"What?" Yuu looked up at the group's leader in panic. Ryouma shrugged and looked behind him just as Taiki and Tagiru walked into the court. Both goggle boys stopped when they saw the other group there with Yuu, Tagiru giving a shocked exclamation and pointing at them in surprise. Ryouma smirked at that before walking over to the younger goggle boy, grabbing the pointed hand and pulling him towards him.

"Let's talk," was all he said before dragging Tagiru out of the court, leaving the remaining occupants watching in confusion, or at least Taiki and Yuu.

"What…just happened..?" Taiki asked turning to the other two members of Ryouma's group. Airu and Ren exchanged looks before speaking up.

"He had that look on his face," Airu stated. Ren nodded in agreement before looking up in thought.

"I wonder what it's going to be this time," he muttered.

"Well whatever it is the outcome can't be good, we both know how he can get," Airu continued.

"Well that's assuming Tagiru looses," Ren said turning his gaze to Airu. The girl just looked at him like he was nuts at that.

"You really think he has a chance at winning?" she asked.

"Wait a second," Yuu cut in, "Win what? What's going on?" Ren and Airu looked at each other before back at Yuu, both giving a shrug.

"Let's just say Ryouma-and I still don't know how or why-has gotten some kind of affection towards Tagiru." Ren explained.

"And unfortunately so," Airu stated with a laugh, "Ryouma is a very sadistic person, especially to those he likes. I think Tagiru is going to be his new toy, and very soon."

Yuu and Taiki stared at Ren and Airu blankly, not really sure how to respond to the information. Finally Yuu spoke up, breaking the silence they had been sitting in.

"Rape?" was all he said. Taiki turned to look at Yuu in shock while Airu and Ren both broke out into laughter.

"Don't think so." Airu giggled.

"Not yet anyway." Ren stated watching as Taiki's face turned from shock to fear. Yuu couldn't help but laugh himself, finding the situation rather entertaining.

"Hey, Taiki-san let's just start practice for now. I don't think Tagiru and Ryouma will be gone that long anyway." He suggested. Taiki's eyes nervously shifted to the court entrance, wondering if he should go after Tagiru and Ryouma before turning back to Yuu and giving a single nod.

"Alright, but if they're not back in ten minutes I'm going after them," he said.

"That's more than enough time for Ryouma to have his way…" Ren muttered slyly, looking away from the group with a smirk. Taiki turned to look at Ren in shock before back out of the court.

"On second thought I'm going to go find them…" Taiki said before turning and running out of the court. Ren and Airu both laughed at the reaction.

"Are you serious?" Yuu asked getting their attention. Ren smirked and shrugged before reaching over and grabbing Yuu's hand.

"Not really, I was just looking for an excuse to kidnap you again," he stated before taking off out of the court, dragging Yuu behind him. Airu laughed and followed as well. Yuu half-thought about protesting but just laughed, deciding it wasn't worth it. Besides missing one game practice wasn't really going to affect his performance.

* * *

><p>"Hey, where are we going!" Tagiru demanded as he was dragged farther away from the basketball court by Ryouma. The silver haired boy smirked but didn't say anything. Tagiru groaned in annoyance and was about to complain once more but was cut off as Ryouma pulled him forward, spinning the goggle boy around and pinning him against a wall.<p>

"What are you doing?" Tagiru demanded. It was obvious that he was nervous and a little scared but the stubborn goggle boy tried his best to hide that….

Which really wasn't working anyway.

Ryouma's smirk grew as he stared at Tagiru, placing a hand on either side of him so he couldn't escape. Tagiru gulped nervously but continued with his pathetic attempt at a strong façade.

"I have a proposition to make," Ryouma stated, "A Hunt actually." On the topic of Hunting Tagiru straightened up a little and looked at Ryouma in interest.

"What is it..?" Tagiru asked unsurely.

"There's a Digimon running around right now that I've been trailing, it's called Valkyrimon," Ryouma explained.

"And you want me to Hunt a Digimon you're after?" Tagiru asked in confusion. Ryouma laughed and shook his head before leaning in closer to Tagiru.

"On the contrary," He stated, "I want to challenge you for this one. You see Tagiru, all your Hunts have been mostly been assisted, in other words you've never actually Hunted solo."

"Well you have a team too!" Tagiru snapped in defense, interrupting Ryouma's explanation. Ryouma smirked causing Tagiru to shrink back against the wall.

"Perhaps, but there are times when we Hunt by ourselves. Teams are convenient for larger prey," Ryouma explained, "What I want from you is to Hunt this Digimon by yourself. No help from Taiki or Yuu, just you and your Digimon."

"Well what's in it for you?" Tagiru demanded, still trying to decide whether he should accept the challenge or not.

"If you win, you get Valkyrimon and I'll start accepting you as a Hunter," Ryouma said simply before a dark smile crossed his face and he leaned in really close to Tagiru's face, their noses almost touching. The goggle boy blushed without realization and Ryouma's smirk increased, "But if you loose I get the Digimon and I'll take something of yours as well."

"M-My Digimon..?" Tagiru stuttered out nervously. His mind was still trying to figure out why his body stopped listening to him when Ryouma was that close. The silver haired boy chuckled before answering.

"No, you can keep those," he whispered before leaning in even closer. Tagiru, without thinking tilted his head upwards just enough to line there mouths up, his eyes glued to Ryouma's lips and breath coming in short, "What I want is something more…personal."

Ryouma pulled away at the last word, moving so that there was a decent amount of space between them. Tagiru found himself leaning against the wall for support and taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. Ryouma smirked at the sight but decided not to comment on it.

"Do you accept?" he asked instead. Tagiru stood there for a moment longer, still trying to gather his bearings before looking up at Ryouma with hard, determined eyes.

"I won't lose!" he declared. Ryouma smiled and gave a single laugh, his eyes closing before turning his gaze off to the side.

"We'll see about that," he mocked before looking up at Tagiru, "You have two days. I assume that will be enough to track him down. Good luck."

"I don't need luck!" Tagiru snapped, "I'll find this Valkyrimon and Hunt it by myself! Just you see!" Ryouma just smiled but didn't get to say anything else on the matter as Taiki's voice echoed down the path, both boys turning to see the Red General running towards them.

"Taiki-san!" Tagiru exclaimed, a mixture of relief and happiness in his voice. Taiki finally arrived to where they had been standing, paused for a moment to catch his breath before turning to look at Ryouma.

"What are you planning?" he asked. Ryouma stared at Taiki blankly for a moment, processing the question before laughing and shaking his head.

"Oh my…are they playing their betting games again?" he asked in amusement. Taiki frowned in concern but didn't say anything, just continued to stare at Ryouma. The boy in question rolled his eyes before slipping one of his hands in his pocket.

"It's nothing really, just a challenge between myself and Tagiru," he stated, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't get involved though."

"And I should trust you?" Taiki asked. Ryouma smiled and turned away, heading back towards the basketball court.

"Your attitude really seems to change around us when Yuu isn't here you realize," he said instead, "If you don't believe me ask Tagiru, he'll confirm." With that said Ryouma walked off, leaving the two goggle boys standing there.

* * *

><p>"So…how did I get dragged into this…?"<p>

Ren stared in complete disbelief and boredom at his two companions. Once he and Airu had succeeded in dragging Yuu away from the Basketball court the three of them tried to figure out where to go from there. Airu had said one word and Yuu, much to Ren's surprise, had agreed.

So here they were, in a clothing store….shopping…

"You didn't have a choice." Yuu stated simply pulling out a shirt and holding it out in front of him. He then turned to Airu, who was standing by a different rack of clothing, browsing through them, "Airu, what do you think of this?"

The girl looked up from the clothes at the question, staring at the shirt Yuu was holding before squealing and running over, grabbing the shirt from him.

"Oh my god it's so cute~!" She exclaimed happily, "I think I'm gonna try this on!"

"Even if it fits do you really think you can buy it without Ryouma here…?" Ren asked boredly. Airu's face dropped and she looked down at the shirt sadly.

"You think Ryouma's the only kid with money here?" Yuu asked sarcastically. Airu's face lit up once more and she gave a squeal.

"You'll buy this for me?" She asked excitedly. Yuu laughed and nodded.

"Sure, why not. It's been a while since I've been on a shopping spree." He stated. Airu squealed once more before running off to the change room. Ren stared at the blonde in surprise.

"She's going to make you broke…" He stated. Yuu grinned and shrugged, turning to look back at Ren.

"No she won't," He disagreed, turning back to the clothes, "Besides what's a little shopping anyway?"

"Airu doesn't shop a little, she shops a lot." Ren argued.

"And when I'm in the mood, so do I." Yuu said pulling another shirt up off the rack. He examined it for a moment before grabbing another of the same style but a different colour, taking both and turning to the change rooms.

"You're quite stereo typical aren't you?" Ren asked following after Yuu. The blonde shrugged and turned to look at Ren while they walked.

"Sometimes," he answered, "It depends on how you look at it." By then they had arrived at the change rooms just in time to see Airu walk out, wearing the very pink shirt Yuu had picked out. She examined herself in the mirror before turning to her two male companions.

"What do you think?" she asked. Ren sighed and shrugged, not really caring while Yuu smiled and nodded in approval.

"Really cute," He agreed before holding out the other two shirts he found, "I couldn't decide which colour so I brought both over." Airu stared at the shirts in thought, trying to decide herself before looking back up at Yuu and shrugging.

"I dunno." She said simply.

"The baby blue." Yuu and Airu looked up at the new voice while Ren smiled in relief, turning to the new comer.

"Finally Ryouma," He breathed, "I was going to die here if I had to deal with this alone anymore." Their silver haired leader laughed and shrugged, walking to stand next to Ren.

"Well forgive me for being late, I had to try and track you down since you didn't have the courtesy of waiting for me to return." He stated. Ren rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall.

"I had to get Yuu away before they returned; you can't blame me can you?" He joked.

"I suppose not," Ryouma responded, smirking over at his companion, "So are you two dating now?" Yuu's face turned bright red at the question while Ren laughed and shrugged.

"Ask Yuu, it's up to him." He said. Yuu blushed even deeper at the comment while Airu giggled into her hand. Ryouma looked over at Yuu expectantly, waiting for an answer to his earlier question.

"I…I uh…we…" Yuu stuttered before turning to Airu, "H-Hey go try on the shirt, I'll be back with some others." He quickly shoved the blue one into the other blonde's hands before turning on his heals and running back out into the store. Ren laughed at his reaction before turning back to Ryouma, pointing in the direction that Yuu went.

"That means yes."

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><p>By the way, Ren is exactly the way I am when it comes to shopping. I Hate it! with a passion! I only do it when I need something other than that, screw it all I could care less! lol. also when I was writing this my friend was watching and commented on the line of "he had that look on his face" her response was "rape look?" which made me laugh so hard! just thought I'd share. anyway as usual R&amp;R and probably expect an update about two weeks from now since that seems to be my current habbit. I'll try for next week but no promises.<p>

later loves!


	6. Chapter 6

umm...I'm sorry! *hides*

Disclaimer: I don't own digimon

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><p>"So how was practice?" Nene asked as she and Yuu sat down at the table. When Yuu had arrived home early that evening Nene grabbed him and told him to change, insisting they go out for supper. Yuu was expecting a fancy restaurant so he had dressed in a semi-formal outfit while Nene had changed into a plain evening dress.<p>

Yuu looked at his sister nervously at the question, laughing at it in the process. Nene gave him a confused look as the waiter placed their menu's in front of them.

"I uh…skipped?" Yuu asked unsurely. Nene stared at him in mild shock, not expecting her little brother to say that.

"May I bring you anything to drink to start?" The waiter asked interrupting the sibling's conversation.

"Just water for us," Nene answered for both. As the waiter bowed and left to get the drinks Nene turned back to her brother, "You left so early and you skipped? Why?"

"Ah well…Ren showed up and…" Yuu trailed off unsurely before giving a shrug, "It's no big deal though. They know I'll be there tomorrow and it was just one practice."

"Yuu…" Nene looked at her little brother unsurely at the explanation before giving a small sigh, "You do realize that you're rebounding right…?" Yuu flinched a little at the question but nodded none the less.

"Ren knows too, I told him," he stated.

"And…?" Nene pressed as the waiter returned with their drinks. Yuu took a sip of his water before looking back at his sister and shrugging.

"I don't know," he answered, "He said he still wanted to try and a whole bunch of stuff. I figured…why not. Is that wrong?"

"It can be, depending on the situation," Nene responded before turning to the waiter and telling him they would need more time with the menus. Once he left again she turned back to Yuu and continued, "Just promise you won't do anything you regret if it doesn't work out."

Yuu stared at his sister in mild confusion, trying to figure out what she was trying to say. A blush found its way onto his face as he realized what she was talking about. Quickly shaking his head Yuu finally managed to give a response.

"No, no, no, no," he said, "There is no way I'm ready for something like that! The most Ren and I have done is kiss and that was like, a small peck." Nene giggled at her younger brothers' reaction before nodding her head. That reaction was all she needed to know that everything would be fine between Yuu and his new boyfriend.

"Alright," She said, "I trust you. Now, let's take a look at the menu, shall we?" Yuu nodded, obviously happy in the change of subject.

* * *

><p>"They kissed…" That was the first thing Taiki said as he walked into his bedroom where Kiriha had been waiting for him to return. Kiriha gave the goggle boy a confused look as Taiki flopped down on the bed next to him, placing his arms behind his head like a pillow.<p>

"Who kissed?" he asked.

"Yuu and Ren," Taiki muttered, his eyes closed yet a look of annoyance on his face, "He didn't notice us coming up, until Ryouma pointed it out. I don't think Tagiru saw though."

"You sound upset about it," Kiriha teased, a smirk finding its way onto his face.

"The only thing I'm upset about is Yuu running off and skipping practice when we have a game tomorrow!" Taiki snapped in annoyance.

"Then why bring up the kiss?" Kiriha inquired. For some reason he was more entertained at his boyfriend's reaction to all of this instead of being jealous like some would assume he should be. Taiki remained silent to the question for a while before sitting back up and looking over at Kiriha blankly.

"Ne…" he started, "You…know them don't you?"

"Now why do you say that?" Kiriha asked, his smirk growing in the process.

"Well because of last night!" Taiki started, "It just occurred to me that your greeting towards them was…fake. And Airu's reaction to it also doesn't make sense unless you actually know each other!" Kiriha laughed before reaching over and grabbing Taiki's shoulders, pulling him against his chest.

"Promise, that was the first time I met them," he stated. Taiki didn't return the embrace but didn't reject it either, just sat there against his boyfriend.

"….Liar," he finally muttered. Kiriha chuckled and Taiki sighed, knowing then he was right but obviously not going to get a proper answer from the blond. Shifting in Kiriha's arms, Taiki looked up at him, tilting his head a little to the side.

"My mom's not home yet you know," he stated causing Kiriha to smirk again.

"Intriguing…" he muttered before leaning down and capturing Taiki's lips in his own.

* * *

><p>The crowd around today's basketball game was larger than it usually was, mostly because Teen Idol Nene Amano was present, cheering for her younger brother. Yuu's fan club, which usually cheered the loudest, was instead watching their real idol. Nene sat down after her brother dunked the last shot, turning to Kiriha who was sitting next to her.<p>

"I didn't realize how good they were," she stated. Kiriha smiled and nodded in agreement, watching as the Xros Heart team moved across the court.

"Well…can't say much about that Tagiru but, he tries," he laughed. Nene laughed and nodded in agreement. She looked up as the whistle blew, indicating the game having a short break. Yuu ran straight over to his sister, who handed him a water bottle straight away.

"Thanks," he said before taking a large gulp from the bottle.

"You're doing pretty good out there," Nene complimented. Yuu laughed before turning to Tagiru and Taiki, the latter receiving almost the same treatment from Kiriha that he had gotten from his sister. For some reason it didn't bug him as much this time, probably because he and Ren and formed their own relationship now.

"We're winning, but not by much," Taiki said turning to his two teammates, "Let's try and pick up the pace out there when it starts again."

"We'd probably be doing better if someone hadn't skipped yesterday…" Tagiru muttered. Instead of retorting angrily Yuu smirked and looked off to the side.

"Or maybe it's because someone's mind is elsewhere no thanks to Ryouma" he responded. Tagiru's face turned bright red and Yuu couldn't help but burst out laughing at the reaction.

"That's not…I mean…Oh come on Yuu!" Tagiru finally stuttered out in embarrassment, "Do you know what's going on?"

"Maaaaybe~!" Yuu sang, enjoying the hold he had over Tagiru. He had gotten the story from Ryouma during his shopping trip with Airu yesterday and couldn't help but find the situation entertaining, not to mention perfect blackmail material.

"Yuu!" Tagiru complained. Yuu laughed once more and was about to continue baiting the younger goggle head when a female voice rang out, calling for Yuu. The next thing he knew, pink covered arms were thrown around his shoulders and he nearly lost his balance from the surprise attack.

"A-Airu!" Yuu turned to the girl in shock. Airu just giggled, letting go of Yuu just enough so she could stand in front of him.

"Ne, Yuu-chan~!" Airu started putting on her best 'I'm cute' face, "Can you do me a favour?"

"Depends…" Yuu answered unsurely, having already figured out that that face is never a good sign, "What is it."

"Can you help me with a Hunt?" she asked placing her hands being her back, "I came across this really cute, really strong Digimon and I want to Hunt it but I want your help!"

"Why me?" Yuu asked confused by her question. Airu giggled before answering.

"Because!" she stated, "You think really well under pressure and you're really good at coming up with plans. Please Yuu!"

"Airu, in case you didn't notice-"

"I know, I know," Airu interrupted before Yuu could finish, "You're in a basketball game right now. Afterward though, can you help me?"

Yuu hummed in thought for a moment before shrugging and giving a single nod.

"Why not?" he answered finally. Airu squealed happily before giggling and giving Yuu another hug.

"Thanks so much~!" she squealed before giving Yuu a kiss on the cheek, "See you later~!" With that said she skipped off towards the court entrance.

"You realize if Ren was here you'd be dead right!" Yuu called out after her, the female just laughing at the statement.

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him!" she sang before disappearing out of the court. Yuu sighed and shook his head, giving a small laugh. That girl was quite interesting.

"Yuu-sama..?" Yuu froze as he heard Mami, the self proclaimed leader of his fan club, speak up behind him.

_Oh crap…_ he thought. He hadn't given much thought to Airu's kiss until then, realizing that the girls probably came to some outrageous assumption because of it. Yuu turned nervously to look at Mami now, at the same time trying to figure out how to get out of this.

"Who was that?" Mami asked, a small pout on her face.

"Ah, who Airu?" Yuu asked in return before giving a nervous laugh, "That was a friend."

"But she kissed you," Mami countered her pout turning a little more jealous-like.

"Ha-ha, yeah she's weird like that," Yuu responded, "But she's really just a friend. I wouldn't date her….ever actually. The thought of it is kind of scary…" His face turned sour as the thought ran through his mind. There was no way he would ever date that girl. Ever. Seeing the look on his face was enough to convince Mami, and she smiled before asking her next question.

"Then what about this Ren?" she continued, "Is she your girlfriend?" Yuu stared at her in confusion before realization hit. He laughed which in turn caused confusion to spread over Mami's face.

"Ren is-!" Yuu started but got interrupted by his own laughter. After a moment he finally got control over himself and turned to look at Mami, wiping away the tears that had formed while he laughed, "Ren's a boy!"

"Oh…" Mami muttered before an excited grin made it across her face, "So then Yuu-sama has a boyfriend?"

"Eh? Wha-!"

"Oh my goodness that's so cute~!" Mami squealed along with the rest of the Yuu fan club.

"No, wait that's not-"

"Aw, you don't need to pretend!" Mami continued, "We'll support you no matter what!" Before Yuu had time to deny her claims, Mami and the rest of the fan club ran off giggling madly about the new discovery they had made.

"But…we're not…" Yuu muttered even though they had left. Even as the words left his mouth Yuu knew it wasn't true. He and Ren had already kissed and even though Yuu was having a hard time admitting it, there was definitely something between them.

"Not what, Yuu?" Taiki said harshly, catching the younger boy's attention. Yuu turned back around to look at Taiki who was now staring at Yuu with hard eyes, hands curled into fists at his side.

"Taiki-san…?"

"You can't say that you and Ren aren't in a relationship." Taiki stated, his harsh tone not changing at all. Yuu felt a small spark of fear crawl into his stomach, not used to seeing Taiki act this way.

"Taiki-san, what are you talking about..?" Yuu asked nervously. He saw a flicker of anger cross Taiki's face and it took every ounce of will power he had not to step away from him.

"Oh right, so then the kiss you had with Ren was on a friendly basis too?" Taiki accused. Yuu's eyes widened as his kiss with Ren was brought into light. He heard Tagiru gasp in shock and turn to look at Yuu with wide eyes.

"You…saw that?" Yuu asked.

"Of course I did," Taiki snapped, "We were right behind Ryouma and Airu. Maybe Tagiru didn't notice but I sure did!"

"Well…what's the big deal?" Yuu asked, slowly gaining some confidence to stand up for himself, "It was just a kiss. And why does it matter to you whether Ren and I are in a relationship?"

"Maybe because you haven't been acting like yourself!" Taiki snapped, "You skip school, then you skip practice! Hell I'm surprised you didn't skip today's game!"

"I know my priorities!" Yuu yelled back in defense, "One practice isn't going to hurt anyone and we're still winning so what's the big deal!"

"Guys…" Nene tried to cut in but was ignored as the argument continued.

"It's not the game that matters, it's your performance!" Taiki shot back, "I don't even understand why you're suddenly on their side anyway!"

"I'm not on anybody's side!" Yuu argued, "They're my friends, the same way you and Tagiru are!"

"Right," Taiki scoffed, "I'm sure they're about as good of friends as DarkKnightmon and Bagramon were!" Yuu gasped at that, not expecting Taiki to pull that card out.

"Taiki!" Nene snapped not believing what she had just heard. Opening her mouth to yell at him she was instead interrupted as Kiriha grabbed her arm. Looking over at him, the blond simply shook his head, indicating that this was something they had to sort out themselves.

"How…could you say that…?" Yuu asked still in shock over what had just been said. Taiki crossed his arms, obviously unaffected by the state he had put the younger boy in.

"Enough is enough Yuu," he said calmly yet the harshness was still there, "Make a choice. Either you're with them, or you're with us. No more jumping back and forth as you feel."

Yuu gasped and felt a lump suddenly appear in his throat at that. Tears started to well up in his eyes as Yuu tried his hardest not control his emotions. Taking a few shaky breaths, Yuu looked down, gripping tightly to the Xros Heart basketball jersey he wore over his normal clothes.

"…Fine…" he whispered before lifting the jersey up, pulling it over his head and dropping it to the ground. Taiki's eyes widened a little at the gesture, not expecting to see that happen. "I'd rather…I'd rather not deal with someone who makes people choose who they can be friends with!" Yuu cried out, "Ren…He never asked me to choose, not once! I never expected you to be the one who would…!"

Yuu choked on a sob, interrupting his own accusations. He lifted his arm, rubbing his eyes with the back of it before turning to look up at Taiki.

"What gives you the right to judge my relationship when you kept yours a secret for a whole year!" he snapped.

"Yuu-"

"No!" Yuu cut in, "Screw you, okay! I've had enough of this! Good luck on the rest of your game." With that said Yuu grabbed his bag and ran out of the court, leaving behind the rest of the team in shock. Tagiru was the first to break the silence, turning his gaze from the court entrance to Taiki.

"T-Taiki…san…?"

Taiki didn't get a chance to say anything as a loud smack broke through the tension. All eyes opened wide as Nene stood, hand still raised while Taiki's face was turned to the one side, a shocked look plastered over his face, along with a slowly reddening cheek.

"I can't believe you'd do that!" Nene snapped as Taiki turned slowly to look back at her, "Yuu has been so…! What the hell happened to you Taiki!"

"What are you…?"

"Don't you dare!" Nene snapped before Taiki could argue, "You were never like this before! You had no right to treat Yuu that way, especially when you don't even know his side of the story! You don't even know how much pain he's been going through because of _you_!"

Shock crossed Taiki's face then, surprised to be hearing that.

"I thought we sorted that out…" Taiki muttered.

"No, you didn't," Nene stated sharply before turning around herself, "Talk to me again when you're back to being yourself, because this person here is not the General I put my trust into during the war." With that said she left, presumably to go find her younger brother. Taiki heard a sigh and looked over at Kiriha, seeing his boyfriend standing up from the bench.

"I'll be right back…" he said turning to leave the court as well.

"Ki-Kiriha!" Taiki called out, suddenly fearful that his boyfriend may leave him as well.

"Sort out your feelings Taiki," Kiriha stated, not looking back at the goggle boy, "But like I said, I'll be right back. I'm not going too far." He turned his gaze over at Taiki, offering a small smile before walking out.

Taiki stood there in mild surprise, not really understanding what had just happened himself. Why had he gotten so angry at Yuu? Nene was right, it wasn't like him, and what was worse was something as simple as this usually wouldn't get him so worked up. So why was he so upset?

Why was he jealous?

"Excuse me, Kudou?" The referee walked over to him catching the goggle boy's attention, "We'd like to proceed with the game now."

Taiki stared at him for a long moment, his gaze traveling over to the opposing team, the score board then to Tagiru who was still staring at him in shock. Taiki sighed and looked down, giving a small shake of his head.

"We forfeit."

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><p>skjfhsdfhjlsdkjhafa please don't hurt me! My Beta's can confirm I was bawling my eyes out after writing this chapter. I feel so bad for what I've done! Yuu please forgive me for putting you through all this! *runs off and cries in a corner*<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

I'm sorry for the long wait on this chapter. To be honest it's been sitting on my computer for a month...ehehehe...I have no excuse as to why I havent uploaded it except that I just never got around to it. But yeah, here it is and I hope you like it. Expect a delay on chp 8 tho cause it's only half written, not even. I've been having troubles with it.

Disclaimer: Don't own, as usual.

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><p>As Yuu ran from the basketball court he slowly felt his control slipping as tears slowly started to slide down his face. Everything Taiki had said to him hurt so badly and he wanted nothing more than to just curl into a ball and cry but at the same time he knew that wouldn't solve anything. If anything he needed to push his emotions to the side for just a moment and find Airu.<p>

Maybe some Hunting will calm him down, even just a little.

Acting on that thought Yuu wiped away his tears and pulled out his Xros Loader, entering the DigiQuartz to find the Cute Hunter. It didn't take long as soon after he arrived in the Digital Airspace he spotted a giant bunny in the distance; An Antiramon. He rolled his eyes, realizing that must be Airu's target and ran in the general direction but keeping his distance all the same. Soon he caught sight of the pigtailed blonde crouched by a building and staring up and Antiramon greedily, Opossumon on the other hand looking annoyed and jealous.

"Airu!" he called out catching both of their attention. Yuu inwardly cursed at the sound of his voice, noticing the slight strain in it. Trying to push down his emotions was not working as well as he would like. The female however didn't notice, turning around and beaming when she saw him standing there.

"Yuu!" she exclaimed happily, jumping up and running towards him, "Did the game end quickly or something? You're here a lot sooner than I thought."

"Um…yeah. Something… Something came up and…" Yuu looked around nervously as he tried to come up with a believable excuse. Unfortunately with his emotions running in circles the way they were it was hard to think up anything.

"Yuu..?" Airu stared at Yuu in confusion as his mask started to slip and the tears started to fall once more. Noticing this Yuu lifted up an arm and wiped his eyes to stop the tears, except they wouldn't stop this time.

"I-I'm sorry…I don't know…I mean…!" Yuu choked down a sob, closing his eyes with one hand over his mouth and the other clutching his stomach.

"Was it Taiki…?" Airu asked softly reaching unsurely towards him. They had only recently become friends and considering the grudge she had had on him beforehand she wasn't sure if she could offer him any comfort that he would actually accept. When Yuu pushed her hand aside her first thought was that he didn't want her comfort like she had thought. So when Yuu wrapped his arms around her and started crying into her shoulder she was mildly surprised. That surprise quickly disappeared as Yuu started to speak.

"H-He said… He said I had to choose!" Yuu cried, "W-Why? That's not f-fair!"

"Choose? What do you mean?" Airu asked unsurely, already having a feeling of what it was. Yuu's grip tightened at the question and Airu patted his back soothingly to try and calm him down. She listened as he tried to answer the question, stuttering out Taiki's name a few times as well as Ren's but unable to form a proper sentence anymore. Pushing him away, Airu smiled up at Yuu before speaking up once more.

"How about this? We head back to mine, Ren's and Ryouma's place, get a couple tubs of ice cream, a couple chick flick and horror DVDs and you can rant about Taiki over that? I'll even let you use the shower and you can borrow some of Ren's PJs."

Yuu rubbed his eyes before staring at Airu in mild confusion.

"B-But what about…your hunt?" He stuttered through his tears. Airu waved him off before placing her hands behind her back and walking away from the Antiramon she had been tracking.

"I may be a bitch at times but even I have a bit of a heart," She stated, "And right now you need a Girls' Night In…" She then giggled and looked back at Yuu, giving a small wink, "Of course despite being a boy you count as a girl in my books. Now what kind of ice cream do you want? Strawberry again?"

Yuu stared at her in a mixture of shock and confusion before giving a small laugh and nodding his head.

"Chocolate actually. Chocolate fudge," he answered.

"Alrighty then! Let's go."

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><p>After leaving the DigiQuartz Airu dragged Yuu to the closest convenient store and picked up a few tubs of ice cream before heading to the apartment she shared with Ren and Ryouma. Apparently the two male hunters were out tracking their own prey at the time so Yuu and Airu had the apartment to themselves when they arrived.<p>

"Bathrooms here," Airu led him to it, after placing the ice cream in the kitchen, "I'll go grab some clothes from Ren's room…there should be towels in the cupboard."

"Thanks Airu…" Yuu said quietly. Airu just shrugged as she walked down the hall to one of the bedrooms.

"No biggy really. Besides you've just been playing basketball so you probably want to shower anyway," she replied.

"Not for the shower," Yuu interrupted just as she was about to open a door to which Yuu assumed was Ren's room. Airu looked back at him in confusion, her face clearly telling him to explain, "Thank you for helping me out like this…I really…I guess I don't have many people I can rely on for this sort of stuff so yeah, thanks."

A small blush crossed Airu's face and she quickly looked away from him.

"Y-You're welcome…" she answered quietly before walking into the room she had been standing in front of. Once she was inside she closed the door and leaned against it, her gaze on the ground. Could it be that Yuu didn't really have any other friends outside of Taiki and the rest of the original Xros Heart team?

She sighed as she thought about that, realizing it must be true. If it wasn't then he would have found someone else to talk to about all this stuff that was bothering him instead of turning to her. After all, up until recently they were enemies.

_That's so sad…_ she thought to herself. Hearing the faint sound of the shower starting Airu quickly snapped out of her thoughts.

"Get it together Airu!" she told herself, shaking her head so she could think clearer, "Now where was I? Oh right, clothes!"

Walking over to the dresser next to the bed Airu opened a drawer and quickly shifted through it, finding a pair of pyjamas that would fit Yuu before closing the drawer and walking out the room once more. She walked over to the bathroom and knocked. Upon hearing Yuu's response to come in, she opened the door and placed the clothes on the toilet.

"Ren has an obsession with overgrown clothes so sorry if they're a little big," she stated before shutting the door again. She heard Yuu thank her once more as the door closed and smiled to herself. Looking over at the kitchen she noticed the ice cream still sitting on the counter.

"…oops," she muttered before laughing, "Better put those in the freezer before they melt."

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><p>"I mean, I don't get it!" Yuu snapped as he sat in the living room with Airu, both of them in pyjama's and holding a tub of ice cream. It didn't take long for Yuu to finish his shower and the two of them starting on the ice cream while Yuu just ranted about Taiki. Airu listened in mild shock, throwing in a comment here and there when needed, but over all in surprise at what Taiki had pulled towards Yuu.<p>

"He has a secret relationship with Kiriha-san for like a year and then he gets pissed at me for not saying anything about Ren?" Yuu continued, "Heck, I myself don't really know where Ren and I are sitting at the moment, but to try and make me _choose_?"

"Well duh, that's not fair!" Airu agreed, "We may be rivals but seriously? Can he be anymore insensitive?"

"Right! And honestly, I've liked Taiki-san for a long time," Yuu admitted eating another spoonful of ice cream, "So that's kind of why I've been so unsure when it comes to Ren but at this point in time I don't even know who that person is anymore because the Taiki-san I knew wouldn't have said stuff like that!"

"Well, changing subjects for a minute here, does Ren know any of this?" Airu inquired. Yuu nodded as he swallowed another spoon of ice cream before answering.

"I told him this yesterday," he answered, "Well at least being more on a rebound and being unsure and stuff. He already knew how I felt about Taiki-san so I didn't have to explain that."

"Well so long as he knows that's good," Airu stated. Yuu sighed, blowing his bangs upwards before speaking up again.

"You think I'd throw myself into a relationship with him without letting him know this?" he asked sarcastically. Airu giggled and shook her head before pointing at Yuu.

"You said 'felt' though," She grinned, "That's past tense! Does that mean you feel more strongly for Ren than Taiki?" Yuu's eyes widened and he blushed at her accusation.

"Th-That's not it!" he denied, "It's just that…I mean…oh I don't know!" He pouted throwing himself backwards into the couch. "I mean, right now yeah, I do feel more strongly for Ren, but that's probably because of how upset I am with Taiki-san. I can't tell the difference between what's real and what's a rebound right now."

Airu smiled before shifting over to him, patting his still damp hair soothingly.

"That's alright Yuu," she consoled, "At least you can admit it. Most people don't like to face things like that."

"I…I want to be with Ren," Yuu admitted finally, "I'm just scared…"

"Scared of what?" a new voice asked.

Both Yuu and Airu shrieked in surprise, the latter even going so far as to grab a pillow and fling it toward the newcomer. A snicker was then heard and Airu and Yuu both peeked over the couch towards the entrance.

Ryouma was holding himself up with one hand on the back of one of the kitchen chairs, the other covering his mouth to stop himself from laughing. Ren on the other hand was holding a pillow, staring over at the two blondes with a rather un-amused look on his face, hair and hat messed up and out of place. Airu's eyes widened and she laughed nervously ducking back down the couch while Yuu just giggled.

"Hehe…Hi Ren…" Yuu greeted nervously. Ren just raised an eyebrow before turning to Ryouma who still hadn't gotten control of himself.

"Oh shut up…" he muttered hitting his leader over the head with the couch pillow. Ryouma gave a shocked exclamation before laughing and rolling his eyes and the two of them walked into the living room.

"You two telling ghost stories or something?" Ren inquired as he tossed the pillow back on the couch and the two took a seat on a different one.

"Highly doubt it," Ryouma answered for them, "Pyjamas and ice cream. I'd say a Girl's Night."

"Yuu's not a girl though…are those mine?" Ren stared at Yuu in mild shock, recognizing the over grown shirt that was currently falling down one of Yuu's shoulders. The blond bushed and looked away.

"A-Airu lent them to me…" he stuttered nervously.

"You went into my room?" Ren turned his shocked gaze to the only female in the room. Airu scowled at him before throwing the pillow back at him again.

"Bugger off okay!" she snapped, "Yuu's had a rough day and I was just doing what I thought a friend should do. Besides you're practically his boyfriend, what's it to you if he wears your clothes?"

"She has a point," Ryouma agreed, though his attention was on the coffee table and the amount of DVD's spread out on it.

"You two planning on watching a movie?" he asked.

"Yeah," Yuu answered.

"You're welcome to join but PJs are required so go," Airu stated pointing down the hall where the rooms where.

"Oh come on…" Ren muttered rolling his eyes. When another pillow hit him in the face he groaned and stood up, knowing that there was no way he was going to win this argument against Airu. Before he left he made sure to throw the pillow right back into her face, snickering as he went down to his room.

It wasn't until he made it to his room that he noticed another behind him. Turning around he saw Yuu standing there nervously but looking like he wanted to say something. He opened the door and gestured for Yuu to come in, closing it once they were both inside.

"What's up?" he asked walking over to his dresser.

"I…got into a fight with Taiki-san…" Yuu started, leaning against the door nervously. Ren stiffened for a moment but quickly relaxed himself and gave a sound of acknowledgement so Yuu knew he was listening. He heard Yuu sigh and walk over towards him as he stood up with some clothes.

Those clothes ended up dropped on the floor in shock as Ren felt Yuu's arms wrap around him from behind.

"Y-Yuu?" Ren tried to look back at him but Yuu simply tightened his arms around Ren's middle, burying his face into his back.

"Can I stay with you Ren?" Yuu asked, though his voice was muffled, "Just for now, until I can get over him? I'm not asking for anything intimate, just comfort…I…I'm sorry. I know how you feel and it just makes me feel worse and-"

"Yuu it's fine," Ren interrupted. He gently loosened Yuu's grip so he could turn around. He leaned forward just enough to close the gap between them, giving Yuu a quick kiss before pulling away.

"I thought I told you yesterday, even if it takes a while I still want to try," he said, "I'll wait for you until you're ready." Yuu nodded before leaning forward and resting his head on Ren's shoulder, his new boyfriend's arms wrapping themselves around him comfortingly.

A knock on the door interrupted any further comfort that could occur and Airu's voice was heard from outside.

"Hey you two! No making out!" she yelled, "Save that for after the movie!"

"We weren't making out Airu!" Ren snapped while Yuu turned bright red and pulled away from Ren quickly.

"Then hurry up! Ryouma and I have chosen a western horror!" Airu exclaimed before they heard her footsteps leaving to return to the living room. Ren rolled his eyes before turning back to Yuu who was still blushing next to him.

"So…you wanna stay and watch me change or am I meeting you in the living room?" Ren teased, a smirk finding its way onto his face. Yuu's blush deepened and he quickly turned to leave the room causing Ren to laugh.

"Hey Yuu, wait a second." Ren called out, catching Yuu by the arm. Yuu turned to look at him, still blushing causing Ren to smile gently.

"Here," he said before placing his hat on Yuu's head, "I'll meet you there." Yuu looked surprised at first before smiling and nodding his head.

"'kay…" he whispered before leaning over and giving Ren a quick peck. He quickly turned around and ran out of the room, leaving Ren to change alone.

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><p>Taiki flopped tiredly onto his bed. After announcing his team's forfeit he had sluggishly packed up his things and left to go home. He had met Kiriha on his way and neither of them said anything making for an awkward silence that was still in process. Taiki sighed and stared up at the ceiling. All he wanted right now was for Kiriha to say something instead of sitting at his desk and staring at him. It was making him feel even more uneasy than he already was.<p>

What was more he still was trying to understand why he had snapped at Yuu the way he had. The more he thought about it the less it made sense. The only reasonably answer that appeared was that he was jealous…

_But that can't be…_Taiki thought to himself, _Why should I be jealous? I have a boyfriend so why would Yuu being in a relationship-_

"Taiki," Kiriha called out breaking Taiki out of his thoughts. The goggle boy sat up on his elbows, looking curiously at his boyfriend. Kiriha was staring at Taiki with the same serious expression he had had on since the fight at the basketball court. Taiki didn't say anything, just waiting for his boyfriend to talk again.

Finally he did.

"Are you jealous?" Kiriha asked taking Taiki by surprised. Kiriha continued, ignoring Taiki's reaction to the question, "Of Yuu being with Ren I mean?"

"I-I…I don't…know…" Taiki answered slowly as if ashamed to have to admit something like that. Kiriha gave a single laugh, closing his eyes and looking downwards, a smug look crossing his face.

"All of our phone calls, e-mails and now talks in person since I've been here have all been on the same topic you realize," Kiriha spoke calmly, opening his eyes only to turn his gaze upwards, "That topic has always been Yuu."

"…It has?" Taiki asked in shock. Kiriha looked over at him in amusement, one eyebrow raised.

"You mean you didn't realize it?" he laughed. Taiki flushed in embarrassment and turned away slightly, not wanting to look at his boyfriend. It occurred to Taiki then that Kiriha was right. He spoke about Yuu almost all the time and even spent more time with the young blond than he did with Tagiru.

Perhaps his jealousy stemmed from possessiveness. After all Yuu had started relying on him a lot soon after the defeat of Bagramon. Maybe that's why he had been so upset with the time Yuu was spending with Ren, because Yuu was relying on someone else now, rather than him.

When he voiced this Kiriha laughed loudly before leaning back into the desk chair, rolling his eyes once he had calmed down. Taiki just stared in confusion, wondering what was so funny.

"Taiki, with that train of thought it makes me wonder exactly how you realized your feelings towards me," Kiriha stated, only further confusing the goggle boy in front of him. Kiriha finally stood up and walked over to Taiki, crawling onto the bed and pushing his boyfriend down beneath him.

"Kiriha…?" Taiki asked unsurely, staring up at the blue general in confusion. Kiriha smiled sadly down at him before laying flat atop him, burying his face in the crook of his neck.

"You'll get it soon Taiki," Kiriha whispered, "But for now let's just stay like this for a while…" Taiki lay there in mild confusion for a while before giving a small nod and lifting his arms up to wrap around Kiriha's waist. Whatever it was that Kiriha was talking about Taiki knew that he would eventually have to figure it out, if anything to stop hurting Kiriha.

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><p>Aaaaand there we have it. Some more progression with Taiki's feelings. He's rather dense don't you think lol! Anyway, heads up Taiki wont be in the next chapter. Next chap will follow Yuu and, dun dundun dun! Tagiru! cause it will be the second day of the bet and he has yet to go hunting for Valkyriemon 8D but yeah, I'm having trouble writing this that chapter. Also, incase you havent noticed the chapters are a little shorter than before. I went from 10 page docs to 8...not liking it but we.

R&R please~


	8. Chapter 8

okay this chapter took me a while to finish, my apologies. I was having some trouble deciding on what to do and how to put things together so...yeah. Anyway No Taiki or Kiriha in this Chapter, so sorry for that also. Major, like MAJOR RenYuu moments in this one but its nessisary to the story. Sorry if you dont like it. Also I'd like to Credit Anime Master ZERO for the fight scene in this. He wrote it for me cause I suck at them. FlaWizarmon Xros Up Arresterdramon is Credited to him.

Disclaimer: Nope. Digimon Not mine. If it were Taiki and Yuu would be cannon.

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><p>When Yuu woke up that morning there were a few things he noticed. First, this wasn't his room; in fact this wasn't even his house. Second, He was lying on a couch on top of something that was warm and breathing steadily. He stiffened for a moment before slowly lifting himself up on his arms, hands on either side of whatever it was he was asleep on. An arm fell limply off of him and Yuu found himself staring down at the sleeping face of Ren.<p>

He blinked a few times in confusion, still wondering what was going on before he remembered last night's events. Sometime during the movie Yuu had fallen asleep with Ren's arms around him. Horrors weren't really his thing so he had spent almost the entire movie curled up next to Ren in fear so it was surprising that he had fallen asleep during the film in the first place.

Realizing all of this Yuu stared curiously down at Ren, watching him sleep for a minute before turning to look at the rest of the room. Airu had fallen asleep upright on the single couch, a thick blanket wrapped around her curled up body and hair loose while Ryouma was sleeping on the loveseat, his cool demeanour not changing even in sleep. Yuu smiled fondly at the scene around him before slowly climbing out from under the blanket over him and Ren, making sure not to wake the latter up.

Once standing, Yuu stretched before running off to the washroom. After all, nature calls. Getting that out of the way Yuu stood in the kitchen, staring over at the living room where the others were still sleeping. This didn't really surprise him. Yuu was, after all, an early riser.

He hummed to himself in thought before smiling and walking swiftly, yet quietly back into the living room. Sitting on the coffee table were all four of their Xros Loaders. He grinned before whispering to his own.

"Hey Damemon, You're awake right?" he asked quietly. There was a fuzzy noise before Damemon's image appeared on the screen.

"_Of course,_" came the response. Yuu's grin broadened, knowing that Damemon followed a similar sleeping pattern to his own. He quickly turned his attention to the other three Xros Loaders.

"Opossumon, Dracumon, Psychemon? What about you three?" he asked. The same noise sounded on the other three before the other Digimon appeared in the screens as well.

"_Well we are now…_" came Opossumon's grumpy reply. Yuu giggled into his hand before speaking up again.

"Come now, I was going to make breakfast," he said, "I was wondering if you would like to help me out?"

"_Do we get some of the food?_" Psychemon asked. Yuu smiled and nodded his head.

"Why wouldn't you?" he joked in return. Apparently that was all he needed to say before the purple Digimon jumped out of the Xros Loader and into the room. Damemon and the other Digimon followed suit soon after before the five of them slipped out of the living room and into the kitchen to start breakfast.

* * *

><p>The smell of freshly cooked bacon was what woke Ren up that morning. He shifted lazily in his spot on the couch before remembering that Yuu had fallen asleep on him. As that occurred to him he noticed the absent of the blond and quickly shot up into a sitting position.<p>

"No Dracumon, you put the plates upside down." That statement followed by a laugh was the first thing Ren heard and he quickly looked behind the couch into the kitchen to see Yuu and all of their partner Digimon busy with breakfast. Yuu was standing next to Dracumon by the kitchen table, both of them turning the plates around so they were face up while Opossumon and Psychemon where watching the food on the stove. Damemon was standing by the fridge, holding it open and appeared to be looking for something.

"W-What the…?" He muttered before looking away from the scene and back down at his lap, "I have to be dreaming."

"You wish," Yuu giggled from right behind him. Ren jumped and looked over at Yuu in shock, wondering how the blond had ended up next to him so quickly. Yuu giggled at him again before leaning forward and giving Ren a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Morning Ren," he finally greeted, standing up straight and plucking Ren's hat off the ground and onto his own head, "Hope you like sunny side eggs, 'cause that's what I made."

"S-Sunny's good…" Ren muttered in response, still surprised about what was going on.

"Yuu! I think the bacon's done!" Opossumon called out. Yuu responded, went back to the stove and proceeded to remove the bacon, placing it on a separate plate. Ren watched a moment longer before smiling and standing up.

"Ren, do you want to wake the others up?" Yuu asked from the kitchen, noticing his boyfriend was finally up, "Breakfast is pretty much ready." Ren stretched first before giving a nod and looking over at the other blonde in the room. He smirked and picked up a pillow on the couch where he had been sleeping before chucking it right into Airu's face.

Airu gave a surprised yelp and looked around the room wide eyed and disorientated for a moment. Ren started laughing catching her attention and causing her to look over at him. He smiled mischievously at her and she stared at him for a moment longer in confusion before realizing what had happened.

"Ren!" she snapped before pouting and causing Ren to laugh once more.

"Breakfast is ready," he said once he stopped, indicating with his chin to the kitchen where Yuu and the rest of the Digimon were putting the food on the table. Airu blinked and stared at this before grinning and jumping out of her cocoon of blankets. The two blondes greeted each other in the kitchen and Ren went over to Ryouma and gently shook his shoulder.

It wasn't long before all four of them were sitting around the table along with their Digimon partners and eating breakfast together. Airu was squealing over how good a cook Yuu was and the boy in question simply laughed it off, but didn't deny the fact either. If anything his cooking was something he was proud of.

"So what are your plans today Yuu?" Ryouma asked as they continued to eat, "You have school right?"

Yuu looked over at Ryouma mid-bite, holding his fork just in front of his open mouth before shrugging. He lowered his gaze along with his fork and stared down at the plate of food in front of him.

"I…don't really feel like going today…" he muttered before peeking up towards Ren who was next to him, "Is that wrong?"

"Not really," Ren answered giving Yuu a sympathetic smile, "You're not running away if that's what you're worrying over." Yuu blinked in surprise at that and stared wide eyed at Ren.

"How'd…?" he muttered not really bothering to finish the sentence. Somehow Ren knew that Yuu was scared about facing Taiki again and this both surprised and flattered Yuu. Ren chuckled and shrugged.

"I'm your boyfriend," he answered simply, taking another bite of his food, "I'm pretty sure I'd notice something like this."

"Exactly~!" Airu sang cutting in before getting stars in her eyes, "When you're in love you notice everything about that person! From how they look to what underwear they're wearing!"

Ren choked on his food and Yuu dropped his fork, eyes wide in disbelief while Ryouma was trying to repress a laugh with his hand. Airu continued to stare dreamily off into her own world as if her exclamation was the most romantic thing on the planet.

"I think…I officially hate the idea of falling in love…" Ren muttered before looking over at Yuu and smiling sheepishly, "Besides," he continued, "I think it's way to early to use that word yet."

Yuu blushed before nodding in agreement.

"I think Airu just has a really warped sense of what love is though…" he whispered back to which Ren laughed and nodded in agreement.

"So," Ryouma cut in, finally calming down from Airu's outburst, "If you two don't have any plans why not take this time to officially go on a date?"

"Huh?" Both Ren and Yuu looked over at Ryouma is shock, neither one expecting him to have suggested that. This also snapped Airu out of her love obsessed daze and to the two lovebirds instantly.

"That's a great idea!" she exclaimed standing up and slamming her hands on the table, "How can you say you're dating when you haven't gone on a date yet! Oh but where should they go…?" She trailed off and looked up thoughtfully while the Ren and Yuu still stared on speechless.

"How about an amusement park?" Ryouma suggested with a shrug. Airu looked over at him boredly placing her hands on her hips before responding.

"That's way too overdone," she stated, "They need something different…" She looked up thoughtfully, holding a finger next to her cheek.

"Dinner and a movie?" Ryouma suggested this time, but again getting a negative from Airu.

"Dinner's fine but again, movies are overdone," she said simply, still mostly in thought. Ryouma sighed and looked up at her.

"How creative are you trying to get here Airu?" he asked, "Cause if you get too creative then it's just too much."

"I know I know!" Airu whined before sitting back down, "But a movie seems boring for them. Yuu fell asleep during the one last night and we both know that Ren's not one for amusement parks."

"Don't we get a say in this?" Ren cut in finally while Yuu just sat there nervously. Airu glared over at Ren before responding.

"No way!" she snapped, "You're terrible at putting fun stuff together!"

"Karaoke," Ren said, ignoring Airu's outburst. Yuu's face turned bright red and he turned to Ren in shock.

"Wha-Wha-Wha-Wha!"

"That's overdone also!" Airu complained. Ren ignored her, returning his attention to his food.

"Yuu's sister is an Idol right?" he started, "I'd like to see if Yuu has any of that talent as well."

"I don't!" Yuu yelled out nervously, "I-I really don't! I'm completely…Tone deaf!"

"Yuu! Lying is Dame Dame!"

"Shut up Damemon!" Yuu snapped, his already red cheeks turning a few shades darker.

"You've heard him sing before Damemon?" Ren asked, looking over at the Digimon in question. Damemon gave a nod of confirmation before responding verbally.

"Yuu likes to sing in shower."

"Damemon!" Yuu shrieked while Ren and the others laughed.

"Well now, that's an unexpected surprise." Airu giggled. Yuu hid his face in his hands. He felt like his entire face all the way to his ears was now red and he couldn't bear to look up at the others in the room. Damemon was just teasing along with the rest of them but that little piece of knowledge was something not even Taiki was aware of yet.

"Okay, I think karaoke is a perfect idea," Ren stated, standing up and picking up his empty plate, "No arguments Yuu, okay?"

"I don't have a choice so why does it matter…" he whined into his hands causing the others to laugh once more.

"Well then, while you guys are on your date, I'm going to pay a visit to Tagi-chan when he's done school," Ryouma announced, a smirk making its way onto his face. Yuu looked up in confusion, staring over at the leader of the group.

"Tagi-chan?" he asked.

"Really, Ryouma?" Ren asked boredly from the kitchen sink, "You've given him a nickname now?" Ryouma laughed and turned to look over at Ren, giving a shrug in response but the smirk remained.

"Wait…Tagiru?" Yuu asked in shock, his eyes widening, "You… You seriously…oh my god!" Ryouma looked over at Yuu in amusement, raising an eyebrow at the same time.

"I thought we went over this Yuu," he stated. Yuu just laughed nervously before responding.

"Yeah…I uh…kinda forgot there for a moment…" he answered.

"Mind if I join you?" Airu asked, "You're just observing right? And I have nothing better to do today."

"If you could you'd join Ren and Yuu for karaoke right?" Ryouma chuckled. Airu giggled and shrugged in response but didn't say anything.

"You guys are hopeless…" Ren muttered before walking out of the room to the hallway, "I'm gonna get dressed."

"Ah…" Yuu watched him as he left; only turning back to the table when the door to Ren's room shut before turning his gaze over to his Digimon.

"You're a jerk you know that…" he muttered, a complete unamused look crossing his face. Damemon simply laughed.

* * *

><p>"Yuu's not here today is he…" Tagiru muttered as he took his seat in class. His gaze was over at Yuu's desk, noticing the absence of the blond yet again. This time though he somehow doubted that Yuu was going to miraculously show up in class like last time. Tagiru sighed and looked down, folding his arms on his desk.<p>

After the incident at the basketball game yesterday Tagiru wasn't sure what was going to happen anymore. It wasn't like Taiki to overreact the way he had but nor was it like Yuu to disregard stuff that he concerned important like school and basketball. He had never seen them fight like that before and honestly, it worried him.

"Tagiru!"

Tagiru flinched and lowered himself against his desk as Mami's voice rang through the classroom. Of course she would come to him and more than likely she was going to blame him for Yuu not being here.

"What!' he whined even though he knew the answer already.

"Where's Yuu-sama?" Mami demanded. Tagiru kept his head lowered but turned his gaze upwards at the girl, a small pout on his face.

"Like I would know…" he muttered.

"Did you make fun of him!" Mami accused. Tagiru groaned and let his head fall to the table.

"Why would I make fun of him…?" he asked boredly, not lifting his head up.

"Because Yuu-sama has a boyfriend!" Mami snapped, "I wouldn't doubt it if you teased him about that-!"

"In case you were both blind and deaf yesterday," Tagiru started before standing up from his chair and slamming his hands down on the table, "Yuu got into a fight with Taiki-san!" he snapped angrily, "It has absolutely nothing to do with me and I wish you'd stop assuming it's my fault every time Yuu doesn't show up for class!"

"T-Taiki-sempai…?" Mami asked slowly, a little taken aback from Tagiru's outburst. Tagiru took a deep breath to calm himself down before nodding and sitting back in his chair.

"They've been tense ever since Kiriha-san came to visit," he answered, "I don't know why…this is the second argument they've had in the past week. They never argue…"

"O-oh…" Mami muttered looking down herself. A moment of silence past before she looked back over at Tagiru, "Are you…going to go look for him after school today?"

"Maybe…I could pay a visit to his place…." Tagiru trailed off slowly before his eyes widened in surprise, "Oh crap!" Mami blinked in confusion, not expecting that response.

"W-What?" She asked.

"I can't! Today's the last day! Oh crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!" Tagiru freaked. He just remembered the bet he had made with Ryouma and with everything that had been happening he hadn't had a chance to go Hunting to Valkyrimon. He turned back to Mami and smiled sheepishly.

"I'll give him a call or something, there's something I need to do today."

"What? Pick up a new game or something?" Mami asked boredly. Tagiru shook his head and tried to think up a believable excuse so he didn't give away what he was really going to be doing. Thankfully the bell rang and Mami returned to her seat, though an angry pout remained on her face most the class.

* * *

><p>As soon as school ended Tagiru ran from the building before entering the DigiQuartz and releasing Gumdramon from his Xros Loader.<p>

"I'm surprised you forgot!" Gumdramon complained as they ran through the Digital Airspace.

"Shut up! You forgot too didn't you?" The young Goggle Boy responded in annoyance.

"Hey! Don't blame me for your shortcomings!" Gumdramon yelled back as they rounded a corner. The pair searched DigiQuartz for hours and yet they could find no sign of Valkyrimon. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, Ryouma and Airu were watching from the rooftops.

"This is boring, Ryouma!" Airu whined as she leaned against the railing. "How much longer do we have to wait?"

"Don't worry. It'll be over in another hour," Ryouma assured her, "Whether or not he succeeds, it'll be over in an hour." Airu looked over at her leader in mild confusion before a small pout made its way onto her face. Ryouma on the other hand remained silent as he watched the young Goggle Boy, a smirk on his face.

Back on the ground Tagiru finally collapsed and leaned his back against a wall.

"Argh! There's no way I'm gonna win now!" He complained.

"Tagiru! Up there!" Gumdramon was standing in the middle of the street pointing up. Tagiru tiredly followed his finger with his eyes and suddenly he saw it. The white winged warrior. He was holding out his arm waiting as a golden falcon flew in and landed.

Tagiru snorted in excitement as he stood up, his batteries fully recharged in an instant.

"Alright! Let's go, Gumdramon!"

"Got it, Tagiru!"

"Gumdramon! _Chou Shinka_!" Rays of light came down around Gumdramon and he cried as he felt the power course through his body. His body seemed to vanish as his vest transformed into armor after which his body reformed much larger and more muscular. His tail reappeared much thinner and more slender tipped with a steel trident and his head finally reformed with a strong yet lightweight armor.

"_Chou Shinka_! Arresterdramon!"

"Now it gets interesting," Ryouma said with a smirk.

"Go, Arresterdramon!" shouted Tagiru.

"Spiral Shredder!" Arresterdramon flew straight up spinning like a spiral saw using his tail as the blade. When he didn't feel anything, he stopped and looked around. "Huh? Where'd he go?"

"Aurvandil no Ya!" Arresterdramon was suddenly pelted by a dozen arrows of light. Tagiru turned his head toward the direction from which they came and saw Valkyrimon holding a crossbow in his hands.

"There he is!" shouted Tagiru.

"Yeah... I can see that!" Arresterdramon recovered from the surprise attack and flew toward Valkyrimon. The white Digimon flew back away from the Dragon Digimon and fired more arrows, but Arresterdramon counterattacked with his tail, intercepting each shot with his trident tip.

"I gotcha now! Spin Calibur!" Arresterdramon launched himself into a single spin and lashed out with his tail. Valkyrimon grabbed onto his sword and tore it from its scabbard in time to block the triple-pronged tip while putting his crossbow away. He pushed his opponent back and raised his blade.

"Fenrir Sword!" The sword started to glow an icy blue. As he swung down, Arresterdramon moved to block but upon contact the tip of his tail suddenly froze.

"Gah!"

"Arresterdramon! Are you okay?" Tagiru asked.

"His sword can freeze what it hits!" the purple Dragon Digimon gasped.

"Oh that's just mean, Ryouma!" Airu said as she watched the fight though she couldn't help the amused giggle that escaped her throat.

"Hmph. You're one to talk," Ryouma scoffed yet a smirk was evident on his face as he turned back to the fight at hand.

"Be careful!" Tagiru warned.

"I know that!" Arresterdramon tried to attack again, but just as the last time, when his tail made contact with Valkyrimon's Fenrir Sword he found more of his tail covered in ice.

"Fenrir Sword!" The Warrior Digimon flew up to his opponent and began thrusting his blade at him rapidly. Arresterdramon flew back and forth trying to avoid each jab but found it hard. Every little cut and nick he received froze over and it slowed down his movements.

"Fenrir Sword!" With his opponent's moves slowed down, Valkyrimon's attacks became more accurate and each strike left behind another layer of ice. Before long Arresterdramon found himself immobilized.

"Tagiru... I can't... move!"

"Aurvandil no Ya!" With his free hand, Valkyrimon drew his crossbow and fired more arrows of light at the frozen Digimon. Arresterdramon yelled in pain.

"This is bad," Tagiru thought aloud, "If Arresterdramon can't move when he's frozen, we can't Hunt Valkyrimon. Wait a sec... Frozen. Ice. I got it!" Tagiru felt a burst of confidence rush through him and he held out his Xros Loader.

"Digi Xros! Arresterdramon! FlaWizarmon!" He swung his Xros Loader out in front of him and holograms of the two Digimon were projected before him. The two images came together and a brilliant light flashed. Arresterdramon's leather armor changed color to red with bright orange flame designs. The leggings on his feet and his gloves changed to bright red as a pair of goggles appeared on his head. Finally, a full mane of hair made of live flames burst out from his horns as his wings and Tail Anchor erupted into flame.

"Xros Up! Arresterdramon!"

"Wow. He's not as stupid as we thought after all," Airu commented as she watched with interest and amusement. Ryouma said nothing but he did smirk as he continued to watch the battle.

"Fire Shredder!" Arresterdramon spun around wildly and his flames surrounded his entire body melting away the ice and freeing him.

"Go, Xros Up Arresterdramon!"

"Haaa!" Arresterdramon charged at Valkyrimon. "Ignition Shot!" He jabbed at his opponent rapidly with his flaming tail trident. Valkyrimon flew left and right to avoid the triple-pronged spearhead.

"That it! You got him, Arresterdramon!" Tagiru shouted excitedly. He was finally going to do it. He was going to beat Ryouma at his own bet!

"Fenrir Sword!" Valkyrimon lashed out with his blade and caught it in between two of Arresterdramon's prongs.

"Hehe. I gotcha now!" The Dragon Digimon twisted his tail and pulled back, but for some reason his tail wasn't moving. He looked down. His opponent's weapon was caught, no doubt about it, but he couldn't wrench it out of his grip. Valkyrimon had his hold tight around his sword. He tried to free himself, but it was no use. He was caught good. His sense of dread only heightened when he saw his opponent press his crossbow against his chin.

"Ummm, can we talk about this?"

"Aurvandil no Ya!"

Arresterdramon screamed as a dozen arrows of light shot through his body and he fell backward. It was at that moment that Valkyrimon freed his sword and slashed. "Fenrir Sword!" He cut two deep diagonal gashes across his opponent's chest, enough to completely freeze Arresterdramon and extinguish his flames.

Tagiru was horrified. "Arresterdramon!"

Valkyrimon sheathed his sword and pointed his crossbow at his opponent once more.

"Aurvandil no Ya!" That final shot sent Arresterdramon down. He struck the pavement with enough force to shatter the ice that had encased him and instantly reverted back to Gumdramon. Tagiru gave a yell and ran over to Gumdramon, his eyebrows scrunched together in concern.

"Gumdramon..." Tagiru picked up his partner. He looked up at Valkyrimon, the Winged Warrior already flying away from it's fallen adversary. It was over. He didn't want to lose to Ryouma, but Gumdramon was hurt. He had to get his partner to safety.

"Gumdramon, rest inside the Xros Loader." He held up the crimson device.

"B-But Tagiru…" Gumdramon tried to protest. Tagiru just shook his head and raised his Xros Loader once more, watching as the purple dragon vanished inside it. He then held out his Xros Loader. "Time Shift!" The portal opened up and he ran through it to escape back into the human world.

Meanwhile, Ryouma's eyes never left the boy, a strange glint in his eyes as Tagiru returned to the Human world.

"That didn't last long," said Airu as she stood up straight and stretched. She then turned to look over at Ryouma who had yet to avert his gaze from where Tagiru had once been.

"What now?" She asked. Ryouma didn't respond at first before slowly turning to his gaze over to the female blonde. He smiled.

* * *

><p>Yuu laughed as he and Ren left the karaoke building together. It had been ages since he had had fun like that. The last time he could remember going for karaoke was before Nene had debuted as an idol. Being with Ren made it fun though, he had to admit.<p>

"I cannot believe I did that," Ren laughed as well as they left. He reached over and took Yuu's hand in his own, the later surprisingly returning the gesture.

"I can't believe how much you know!" Yuu exclaimed, "I swear you knew almost ever song on the song lists!" Ren grinned and looked over at Yuu.

"What can I say? I love music," he stated. Yuu giggled before something along the streets caught his attention. His eyes lit up and he quickly turned back to Ren, grabbing his boyfriend's arm with both hands.

"Can we go in there?" he asked excitedly pointing over to the object in question. Ren blinked and looked over where Yuu was pointing.

"A…photo booth?" He asked in mild surprise. Yuu nodded in excitement, holding Ren's arm closer to him.

"I always wanted to take a picture with someone in them!" he exclaimed, "I mean, Nee-san and I have done it a few times but I've never had the opportunity to go with friends or…well…someone special…" A small blush crossed Yuu's face at that statement and Ren couldn't help but smile at his shyness.

"Alright," he agreed, "Let's go. A memento, right?" Yuu smiled and nodded vigorously before running over to the photo booth, dragging Ren along as well.

"Personally," Ren stated as they entered the booth, "I've always thought these as something corny." Yuu laughed as he entered the money into the machine before responding.

"Corny as it may be I still want to do it," he said before taking a step back so he was next to Ren. He took hold of his boyfriend's arm one more before smiling, "And honestly, I'm glad it's with you." Ren turned to look at Yuu in mild surprise, not expecting him to say that. Yuu's gaze was in the photo screen in front of them, but a small blush was on his face. That was a sight Ren was used to seeing yet this time around he felt his own heart beating a little faster than normal. It occurred to him then.

He had fallen for Yuu.

Not waiting another moment Ren pulled his arm out of Yuu's grip, grabbed the blond by both shoulders and closed the distance between them. The moment their lips met the camera flashed.

* * *

><p>SO! two more chapters to go! Maybe an extra one afterwards for some fun. Taiki will be in the next chapter so no worries there. Expect a delay tho. I'm caught up in Bones (tv series) and I havent even started chp 9 yet so yeah. but I will finish this! I havent finished a fanfic in so long! I'm uber excite! but yeah, R&amp;R please~<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

so things get a little confusing here, fyi, but I hope you'll like it. second last chapter, everything wraps up in the next one. As usual thanks to my Beta's, love you guys!

disclaimer: well duh i dont own sheesh.

* * *

><p>Ren groaned and he fell forward, letting himself fall face first onto the couch when he got home. After his date with Yuu he had dropped the blond off at his condo before returning to his own apartment. He heard shuffling from the couch next to him before a voice was heard.<p>

"What's wrong?" Ryouma asked. Ren didn't respond at first, instead turned his face around to look at his leader. Ryouma was sitting on the single couch, one leg crossed over the other and a book in one hand, thumb holding his place while he stared curiously at Ren. Ren sighed before rolling over and looking up at the ceiling.

"I can't do this anymore…" he muttered tiredly, resting his arm against his forehead.

"You mean date Yuu?" Ryouma inquired in mild confusion, "I honestly thought you were getting along with him."

"I am! That's the problem!" Ren yelled in frustration. Ryouma remained silent, waiting for Ren to calm down and explain himself a little better. After a few deep breaths Ren continued, "Yuu is…" Another sigh. "This wasn't suppose to happen…Ryouma I'm falling for him…badly…this wasn't…!"

Ren clenched his teeth together, his eyes squeezed shut and frustrated tears started to gather in them. Ryouma stared blankly at his friend before giving a small sigh. Placing his book down next to him he stood up only to crouch down next to Ren.

"Do what you feel is right," Ryouma said simply. Ren took a few deep breaths before wiping his eyes with the back of his arm.

"If I wanted advice like that I would have cracked open a fortune cookie," he snapped. Ryouma gave a single laugh and smiled gently down at Ren. Ren in return glared for a moment before turning away from Ryouma and facing the back of the couch. Silence followed for a few minutes, broken when Ren sighed once more.

"Just…don't tell Airu…" he said, "She'll have a fit if she finds out the truth."

"You have my word," Ryouma replied.

* * *

><p>There was a knock on his bedroom door and Taiki looked up from his desk where he had been doing homework. Kiriha lay on his back, arms behind his head like a pillow and eyes closed, yet Taiki knew the blonde wasn't sleeping. The door opened a crack and his mother peeked inside, offering a small smile.<p>

"Tagiru's here," she said, "He seems kind of depressed. Wanted to talk to you." Taiki blinked in mild surprise. It wasn't often that Tagiru was depressed about something. Maybe it had to do with the fight with Yuu during basketball. Either way, by the soft tone his mother was taking it was obvious that something was wrong.

"Alright," he responded with a nod, "Let him in." His mother smiled and nodded before retreating out of the room while pushing the door open a little farther. Soon after Tagiru walked in, closing the door and leaning against it. His shoulders were slumped and he looked really upset about something. The usual spark of energy that was always in his eyes was gone.

"Tagiru..?" Taiki stared at his Junior in worry, standing up from his desk chair. He mildly noticed Kiriha pushing himself up on his arms and look over at them.

"Tagiru, what's wrong?" Taiki asked walking over to the younger goggle boy. He led Tagiru over to the chair he had been sitting on before taking a seat on the corner of his bed closest to him. Tagiru sighed and looked down in his lap. His hands gripped tightly to his Crimson Xros Loader before he finally answered.

"I…I lost…" he whispered. Taiki looked confused for a moment, wondering why Tagiru would be so upset over a loss. Usually he just picks himself right up and tries again at full speed. He didn't get a chance to voice his confusion as Tagiru continued.

"Ryouma's bet I mean," he stated before giving a sigh and looking towards the ceiling, "But the bet isn't what bugs me… Taiki-san, I'm not a good Hunter am I?"

"…What?" Taiki confusion turned to shock as Tagiru said that, "Tagiru why would you think that? And what was your bet with Ryouma anyway?"

"A Hunt," Tagiru answered before looking back down, "He wanted me to Hunt a Digimon without any help from you guys. I failed. I…I can't Hunt on my own."

"Tagiru that isn't true," Taiki started, "You're a little inexperienced yes, but you're strong. Both you and Gumdramon have a certain strength that others don't."

"What good is that strength when I can't accomplish anything with it?" Tagiru demanded, his voice cracking, "How can I have strength when I let Gumdramon get so badly hurt?"

"Gumdramon…?" Taiki stared at Tagiru in concern, not knowing what else to say. Tagiru didn't say anything just turned away from Taiki and squeezing his eyes shut against the tears that threatened to fall.

"It's my fault…!" He chocked, "I should have been more careful! I shouldn't have gotten over confident about winning the bet..!"

"You're beating yourself up over nothing."

Both goggle boys looked up in shock, turning to Kiriha who had been silent through most of the conversation. Kiriha lay back down on the bed from his lounging position on his arms, letting out a deep breath and closing his eyes.

"There are different kinds of strengths," he explained, "And sometimes having some one you care for get hurt is what opens your eyes to the other. Physical strength…and strength of heart. Yours is the latter."

"…I…I don't understand…" Tagiru muttered in response. Taiki just stared at Kiriha, a look of mild concern on his face.

"You're not talking about…?"

"Deckerdramon," Kiriha finished, "I spend my whole life trying to be strong that I failed to notice where my true strength lay. When Deckerdramon died that was when I understood."

"So you're telling me that in order to become stronger Gumdramon needs to die?" Tagiru asked in a mixture of confusion and horror. Kiriha laughed lightly before shaking his head, at least as best he could while remaining in lying position.

"I'm saying to take what has happened here and learn from it. You have strength you just need to find it first," he explained. Tagiru sighed and looked back down in his lap, his bottom lip sticking out in a small pout.

"I don't get it…" he muttered. Taiki laughed gently before patting the younger boy on the shoulder.

"You'll understand eventually," he said, "For now try not to beat yourself up too much." Tagiru sighed before nodding. There really wasn't much else he could do now anyway.

* * *

><p>"Yuu!" As the door to the condo opened Nene jumped up from the couch and ran to her little brother as he entered. Yuu looked up at her as he proceeded to remove his shoes and blinked in mild confusion.<p>

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Of course something's wrong!" Nene snapped, "You didn't come home last night and the school called to find out where you were! The least you could have done was let me know where you were!"

Yuu groaned in annoyance before pushing past his sister and into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry I forgot to call, I never have to anymore anyway," he stated as he pulled a glass out of the cupboard, "There's never anyone here."

"Well I was here!" Nene argued, "And after your fight with Taiki I was so worried about you."

"Don't talk about Taiki-san!" Yuu snapped turning to look at his sister in an instant, "The last thing I want to talk about is him!"

"Yuu…" Nene looked at him in concern before sighing and looking down, "I'm sorry…I can understand you needing time to yourself, but please if I'm home all I want is for you to let me know where you are."

Yuu opened his mouth to argue but found that he couldn't come up with a good enough argument against his sister. Finally he sighed and gave a single nod.

"I was at Ren's," he said turning back to the glass he had gotten earlier and filling it with some tap water, "I found that I relax more when I'm with them. Airu and I had a…well she called in a 'Girls Night' until Ren and Ryouma came home."

"So…you and Ren didn't…?" Nene let the question hang in the air, not sure how or if she should even finish that question. Yuu turned to her in mild confusion before his face flushed as he caught onto her question.

"Wha-? No we…Nee-san!" Yuu panicked before shaking his head, "I told you I'm too young for that! I fell asleep on him, yes, but that was during a movie!" Nene gave a sigh of relief to her brother's reaction before smiling gently.

"Alright. I'm sorry I was just-"

"Worried! Yeah, yeah. I get you now can we please drop the subject?" Yuu interrupted. He spun on his heels and left the kitchen, heading over towards the stairs, only to be stopped once more by his sister.

"I go back to Hong Kong tomorrow," she said, "But if you want me to stick around longer I will." Yuu turned back to his sister and shook his head.

"It's okay Nee-san, you can go," he answered, "I'll be okay, and if I'm not I have Ren. You don't need to worry." Nene smiled gently and wrapped her arms around her middle, holding onto her elbows.

"I can't help it," she answered, "I'm your sister." Yuu gave a single laugh before nodding his head.

"I understand," he responded, "Just don't worry too much. I promise I'll call you if I need you though, alright."

"You better," Nene laughed, "And go to school tomorrow too."

"Yeah, yeah." Yuu waved that last bit off with a laugh of his own before finally making his way up the stairs to his room. Once there he pulled the pictures from the photo booth out of his pocket and stared down at them. A fond smile crossed his face and he brought the strips up to his chin. These photos have made him happier than he had been in a while, and it was all thanks to Ren.

If it weren't for Ren, Yuu would still be grieving over Taiki. In fact there's a chance that he wouldn't have gotten over the Red General at all. But…had he actually gotten over him? Yuu considered that for a moment, letting the hand that held the pictures drop to his side as he leaned against his bedroom door.

He couldn't say for sure if he had or not. He had avoided Taiki today; that was his main reason for skipping school. If he was truly over him then he could face Taiki…right? Yuu gulped nervously as he considered this. Tomorrow he would have to go to school. Tomorrow he would see Tagiru…and Taiki. He could see them right?

"Taiki-san…" Yuu hadn't even realized he had said anything until his own voice reached his ears. His heart clenched and without warning tears started to fall down his face. Taiki had told him to choose and he had. He chose Ren.

He chose Ren.

So…why was he so sad?

* * *

><p>Tagiru sighed as he walked into class that morning. He still hadn't fully gotten over his loss of the bet and what was worse was waiting for Ryouma to come and claim his victory. Which was what? What was that guy going to take from him if it's not his Digimon? He groaned in annoyance and sat in his seat.<p>

"Are you okay..?"

Tagiru's eyes widened and looked up from his slouched position on his desk. Staring at him in mild confusion and concern were a pair of light blue eyes that belonged to Yuu. The blond was holding his bag on his desk and staring back at Tagiru, waiting for a response.

Tagiru stared blankly for a moment, mouth hanging open like a gaping fish before finally making the realization that he wasn't dreaming.

"Yuu!" He exclaimed standing back up, "Y-You're here? Where were you yesterday?"

"One question at a time moron," Yuu responded blandly before taking his seat, "I was out with Ren yesterday, not that it's any of your business." Tagiru seemed taken aback by the statement but quickly shook out of his stupor and ran over to Yuu's desk.

"You don't need to be so rude," he complained with a small pout, "It's Taiki-san you're mad at right?" At the mention of Taiki, Yuu stiffened a little but quickly forced himself to relax. He gave Tagiru an apologetic smile and shrugged.

"Yes, sorry," he said before his smile got a little brighter, "So, I'm assuming your depressed attitude right now has something to do with Ryouma?" Tagiru froze and stepped back a little.

"H-How did you-?" Yuu laughed, interrupting Tagiru before responding.

"I figured as much is all," he stated, "Ryouma works at his own pace though so I have no idea when he'll confront you of it…probably because he's sadistic."

Tagiru groaned and fell down to the ground. Yuu simply laughed knowing that Tagiru was probably going to be stressing over this until Ryouma confronted him. Also Ryouma would certainly take his sweet time just to torture Tagiru more and that entertained him.

"Go take your seat, class will start soon." Yuu said pulling Tagiru out of his stupor. The goggle boy looked up at him tiredly and nodded.

"Yeah…" he muttered dryly before standing up and walking back to his own seat, his feet dragging behind him. The moment he took his seat the bell rang and class began. Unfortunately Tagiru wasn't able to concentrate on the class as his mind was only on Ryouma and what he was planning on doing to him.

* * *

><p>As soon as lunch came around Yuu found himself surrounded by Mami, Midori, Haruka and all the other members of his self proclaimed fan club. A nervous smile crossed his face and he gave a small laugh. It was just what he was expecting. They were all asking him questions about his new boyfriend.<p>

Some, actually most, of the questions he didn't know how to answer. Half the time he wondered where they were coming up with these questions.

Then he remembered doujins and mangas and it suddenly made sense. Apparently they were trying to project their fantasy love-stories into his actual relationship. He didn't want to answer these questions anymore. Smiling he stood up and excused himself before making a quick retreat out of the classroom.

He stood in the hall for a moment, breathing a sigh of relief before realizing he needed to find out where to go now. Tagiru had hesitantly left the classroom earlier, presumably to the school roof where the three of them usually ate together; him, Taiki and Tagiru. At that thought Yuu felt his mood drop once more. He couldn't go there anymore so may as well move to the courtyard for lunch.

He sighed once more before slowly dragging himself down the stairs of the school and out into the courtyard. He squinted against the light, raising a hand to shield his eyes and allowing them to adjust to the outdoors. Once he did he blinked in mild shock at who he saw standing there in front of him.

Ren smiled up at him and offered a half wave before walking over.

"Hey Yuu, how's lunch going?" he asked. Yuu didn't respond at first, allowing himself to register that Ren was indeed there before letting a smile to cross his face as well. He shrugged and looked off to the side.

"It's uh…" He trailed off as he noticed something in the corner of his eye. Turning his view behind him he saw his fan club gathered together and staring at the two of them with dreamy looks on their faces.

He froze.

"What's wrong?" Ren asked coming up next to Yuu and looked over the blonde's shoulder. Yuu stiffly turned his gaze back to Ren and pointed to the girls in the entryway.

"Meet my fan club…" he muttered nervously, "They just discovered I'm gay and have a boyfriend…" Ren blinked in mild confusion at the girls before smirking mischievously and looking down at Yuu.

"Oh really?"

Yuu jumped at the statement, something in Ren's voice catching him off guard. He looked up at Ren, ready to ask him what he was thinking about. Instead his eyes widened and his face flushed as he felt Ren's lips on his own.

The girls squealing behind him was all he needed to hear to confirm that Ren was seriously kissing him in front of everybody. When Ren pulled away Yuu just stared at him, eyes wide in embarrassment. Ren took one look at his face and laughed, reaching up and ruffling his hair.

"Oh you're too cute," he stated. Yuu pouted while trying very hard to ignore the excited chatter from behind him.

"Anyway," Ren continued, "We're going to go Hunting soon. You'll probably still be in school but when you're done want to head over towards the park? We'll be in that area." Yuu continued to pout, still upset about the surprise kiss, but nodded none the less. Ren smiled before leaning forward and giving Yuu a quick peck.

"Later then," he said as he pulled away. Quickly spinning on his heels Ren ran out of the schoolyard. Yuu sighed and let his shoulders slump. He was a little annoyed with Ren's actions just then but at the same time was grateful. At least this way he didn't have to hide anything at school anymore.

He turned his gaze upwards towards the roof and sighed once more. He could almost see the silhouette of Taiki leaning against the railing as he did every lunch. Except this time he wasn't there. Why was it that even though Ren was just here Yuu still thought of Taiki?

He sighed and looked back down as a sad thought ran through his mind. Even when with Ren there was still that underlining loneliness. A longing to be with Taiki, to make amends. Yuu wrapped his arms around his middle and shut his eyes. He couldn't even hide it from himself anymore. He missed Taiki.

* * *

><p>Taiki looked over his shoulder from his spot against the fence as the door to the roof opened up. As Tagiru came out Taiki was half hoping that he would see Yuu behind the younger goggle boy like usual. Unfortunately for him the blonde didn't appear.<p>

"Yuu didn't show up again?" he asked Tagiru as his Junior walked up to him. Tagiru sighed and shook his head.

"He's here but…I think he's still upset," Tagiru answered as he flopped down on the ground, back against the fence. Taiki made a sound of curious acknowledgement, indicating that Tagiru continue.

"Well he was civil more or less…at least as civil as he usually is with me," Tagiru gave a dry laugh at that before sighing, "But it didn't look like he wanted to be with us anymore. Besides, the girls got to him before I could ask if he wanted to come for lunch."

"I see," Taiki muttered in response. After a moment of silence he sighed and turned his gaze towards the courtyard below. That's when he saw it. A flash of blond hair. He blinked in mild surprise and squinted in order to get a closer look.

There, right bellow him, was Yuu with Ren's hands holding his face and their lips pressed together in a kiss. In an instant anger flared up inside him and Taiki pushed away sharply from the fence. He turned his back to the fence and clenched his fists at his side. This anger, jealousy really, was completely irrational. No matter how he thought of it he shouldn't be reacting this way towards Yuu's new relationship.

There was no logical explanation.

"Taiki-san…?"

At the sound of Tagiru's voice Taiki snapped out of his thoughts. He turned to look over at the younger goggle boy and offered a sheepish smile.

"S-Sorry Tagiru…" he muttered before looking back down at the ground. A long a silence followed for a while and Taiki hadn't moved from his spot. After a moment his sighed and his shoulders slumped forward.

"Hey Tagiru…" he started catching the younger goggle boy's attention, "I…I think I'm jealous…"

"J-Jealous?" Tagiru asked in confusion, "Of what? Why?"

"Of Yuu and Ren," Taiki responded before leaning against the wall next to the door to the roof. Tagiru's look of confusion remained. Taiki sighed and looked up at the sky before continuing, "I don't understand why either but I'm almost positive that's what the problem here is. I think even Kiriha knows and that…I just feel bad, I guess…"

"T-Taiki-san…" Tagiru didn't know how to respond to that and Taiki knew this. He offered the younger boy an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring this on you," he said before kicking off the wall and turned to the door, opening it, "I'll see you later." With that said he walked out, leaving Tagiru alone on the roof.

* * *

><p>Once school had ended Yuu moved quickly. He grabbed his schoolwork, shoving them into his bag and then slipped his bag onto his back and ran from the classroom. He managed to get out of the classroom before even Tagiru had, which was an accomplishment on its own. The reason for the fast retreat was so he could avoid the fan girl's.<p>

After Ren's stunt at lunch it had only increased the questions and squeals he had been dealing with. He really didn't want to deal with it anymore. Once he got off school property he ran into a secluded area before pulling out his Xros Loader and opening the portal into the DigiQuartz.

He felt himself relax instantly once he entered the digital airspace. Here he wouldn't have to worry about psychotic fan girl's backing him into a corner. Smiling, Yuu quickly looked around the area, locating where the park would be and heading towards it. It didn't take long to reach it but he wasn't ready for what lay ahead.

Yuu's eyes widened at what he saw. After finally finding his friends all of them were lying unconscious in the DigiQuartz, the remnants of what could have only been a Hunt gone wrong surrounding them. His eyes fell to Ren and froze. His boyfriend lay face down, covered in debris while Dracumon lay a little ways in front of him.

The same could be said for Airu, Ryouma and their partners. Whatever had just happened here had been bad.

"Oh god…" Yuu muttered as the strength in his legs gave out and he fell to his knees. He took a few deep breaths, trying his hardest to calm down. He needed to calm down.

He had to!

He squeezed his eyes shut and let out a frustrated yell. He couldn't do anything by himself but he needed to help his friends. But how? He couldn't gather all of them to safety by himself. He needed help but who could he ask?

Yuu took a few shaky breaths and felt tears fall down his face. He had no other choice. The only person who would help with no questions asked was Taiki. He had no other choice now but to go find Taiki.

He needed to face him.

* * *

><p>So I personally found trying to convey Yuu's feelings in this chapter to be rather hard so i appologize if it got confusing. As for Ren...=3 Hi-mi-tsu-desu~ lol. bare with me, chapter 10 hasn't been written yet so it will be a while for that to come up. thanks for sticking with me so far~<p>

R&R please~


	10. Chapter 10

okay so final chapter is here. this will probably make you all go WTF? but whatever lol. this is what was planned from the beginning when I started writing this so yeah. Also this first part here was written by Anime Master ZERO, I just touched it up and changed certain things. I asked for his help cause I was a little stumped and this is what he came up with. So credit to him on this beginning section.

another thing, this chapter is alot longer than the others. I was actually tempted to split it into two chapters because of the amount of information in it, and because i didn't realize it was actually going to be this long lol. in the end tho i decided, final chapter, who cares. the last ones are usually either the longest or shortest so lets make this one the longest.

Aaaaanywho! hope you enjoy the final installment of Scheme. As usual i don't own Digimon.

* * *

><p>After gathering his emotions together Yuu quickly stood up and left the DigiQuartz. His destination was clear and in his grasp. He needed to find Taiki and if his habit hadn't changed he would be at the playground within the park where the three of them usually hung out after school.<p>

Once the playground was in his view Yuu caught sight of Taiki at his usual spot against the dome like equipment. As always, Tagiru was there too but that was far from Yuu's biggest concern. The blond ran as fast as his legs could carry him. By the time he reached the other boys, he was panting heavily.

"Yuu!" Tagiru had noticed the boy first. When Taiki heard the blond's name he turned and saw Yuu resting his hands on his knees breathing heavily.

"Yuu, where'd you go?" Tagiru asked, "Taiki-san and I have..."

"Ren and the others..." Yuu gasped still trying to get his breath back, "They've been attacked!"

"Wait, what?" Tagiru blinked and looked at Yuu in confusion. Yuu shook his head before trying once more to explain himself.

"Something...attacked them...in DigiQuartz..."

Tagiru, still unable to understand what Yuu was actually saying decided to fix the problem. He grabbed his water bottle from his duffel bag and handed it to Yuu. The blond accepted it gratefully and took several big gulps of water. When he had finally drunk enough to speak coherently, he stood up straight and looked straight at both goggle boys.

"Ren and the others got attacked in DigiQuartz," he repeated, "Some really strong Digimon I would think. We have to help them!"

"You want us to help them?" Taiki asked jealousy evident in his voice.

"What'd they ever do for us?" Tagiru asked as well. Even though he was trying to cover up his anxiety with his usual bold demeanour, it was failing to hold up. Taiki and Yuu knew that he was still uneasy about seeing Ryouma again.

"For all we know," Yuu started looking at Tagiru slyly, "It could be a rare and powerful Digimon."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!" And with that, Tagiru Time Shifted into DigiQuartz. Yuu smiled in satisfaction at his ploy to get Tagiru in before turning his attention to Taiki. The older boy stood there, hands clenched into fists at his side and Yuu started to realize that Taiki probably wasn't going to help out.

"Taiki-san..." Yuu walked closer to his senior as the portal closed, leaving the two of them alone. "Taiki-san, listen..."

"Yuu, please." Taiki closed his eyes and sighed. He knew this was going to be difficult for him. He really did want to talk to Yuu again, but after what he witnessed at the school gates during lunch, he couldn't bring himself to speak to him anymore. He slowly opened his eyes and looked back at the other boy.

"Taiki-san, you have to come and help. You're the best person for this job and you know it. You have to help them!" Yuu begged desperately.

"And why should I?" Taiki snapped. Yuu's eyes widened and he took a few steps back. He had never seen Taiki act like this before. But then again, the older boy hadn't exactly been himself lately.

In fact, Yuu realized, neither had he.

"B-because..." The blond tried to find the right words, but even as a straight A student nothing came to him.

"Yuu." Taiki closed his eyes again. "I saw what happened at lunch." Yuu's eyes widened even more. How much had Taiki seen? "I saw what you and Ren were doing."

Yuu sighed and let his stiff posture drop.

"Taiki-san…" he started before sighing once more, "Look, I'm not going to apologize for that. I see no reason to apologize for kissing my boyfriend but you and Tagiru are both still my friends," He urged, "I want to be friends with you still but you have to understand that Ren, Ryouma and Airu are my friends also! That doesn't mean things have to be different between us so please! Please help my friends!"

Taiki stared at Yuu blankly, though surprise flooded through him at Yuu's exclamation. Yuu on the other hand took the blank look as a negative response. He squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to push away the dread that he really had lost Taiki's friendship. He didn't know what else to say. Slowly, he regained his composure and took out his Xros Loader.

"I'm going to help them, whether you're coming or not. Time Shift!" He held out the golden device and opened the portal to the DigiQuartz.

"Yuu, wait."

"I'm going to help them, Taiki-san, and you can't stop me." Yuu proceeded to step through the portal, but Taiki reached out and grabbed his hand.

"You're not going in there to help them," the goggle boy said sternly before his voice softened and a soft smile crossed his face, "Not alone."

Yuu turned and looked at Taiki, a look of shock covering his features.

"T-Taiki-san?"

"Yuu…I'm sorry," Taiki said, "You're right. I've been acting stupidly and I have no right to choose who you can be friends with. Ren's your boyfriend, Ryouma and Airu are your friends, and I have no right to change that."

"Taiki-san..." The expression on Yuu's face softened as hope started to gather in his chest.

"Besides..." Taiki took out his Xros Loader and grinned, "Like everyone always said, I can never turn my back on anyone."

Yuu smiled happily and Taiki returned it with a grin of his own. The determination returned to the blond's eyes and he nodded.

"Then let's go."

* * *

><p>"Kiriha! Open the door!" Taiki yelled as he, Tagiru and Yuu arrived at his house each carrying or supporting either Ryouma, Airu or Ren. The door opened just before they reached it and Kiriha looked out in confusion. Once catching sight of the six of them his eyes opened in surprise and concern.<p>

Surprising all of them Kiriha ran from the door and straight to Yuu who was trying his hardest to hold Ren up. Kiriha came up next to him and took Ren's other arm and placed it over his shoulders, taking half the burden from Yuu.

"Let's get inside." Kiriha said sternly. Taiki and Yuu quickly shook off their confusion to Kiriha's behaviour, deciding that the three injured people mattered more at the time. Getting them all inside they rested them on the couches in the living room. Taiki ran into the kitchen to get some glasses of water for when they woke up while Yuu knelt by Ren's side. He didn't quite notice Kiriha sticking close to Ren as well, his attention glued solely to the unconscious boy.

Luckily for Yuu he didn't have to wait long for Ren to wake up. Just as Taiki returned to the room Ren stirred, a groan escaping his lips.

"Ren!" Yuu exclaimed jumping up and leaning half over his boyfriend. Ren slowly opened his eyes and looked at Yuu in mild confusion.

"…Where…?"

"My house," Taiki answered setting the tray of water down on the coffee table. Yuu helped Ren into a sitting position while Taiki handed him one of the glasses. Ren took it but made no indication that he was going to drink any.

"Ren, what happened?" Yuu asked in concern. Ren turned to look at Yuu before he caught sight of Kiriha. A strange look came over his face and he quickly looked down into the glass of water before shrugging. This only made Yuu worry more. Before he had a chance to press for more information Tagiru spoke up.

"Ah!" The younger goggle boy exclaimed, "Ryouma and Airu are coming to!" This caught Ren's attention and he looked over at the other two couches where his team mates where slowly started to gain consciousness. They all looked as confused as Ren had when he had woken.

Soon they all held a glass of water, Airu's already empty, while Ryouma was slowly sipping his own.

"You gonna drink that?" Airu asked, pointing at Ren's still untouched glass. Ren, in response shook his head and handed the glass over to the girl.

"So are you going to tell us what happened?" Taiki inquired of the rival team. They all exchanged glances before Ryouma looked up at Taiki and shook his head.

"All it was was an accident and reckless behaviour on our part," he answered, "And not to sound rude but it really isn't your problem now is it?"

"Hm…guess so…" Taiki muttered in agreement. Tagiru on the other hand wasn't happy with that response.

"Perhaps it's not our problem but that still doesn't change the fact that there's a Digimon strong enough to bring you guys down out there!" he snapped, "We need to hunt it! And fast!"

"You mean the same way you failed to Hunt Valkyrimon?" Ryouma snapped. Tagiru froze, taken aback by his words before looking down and away from him.

"Ryouma, that was uncalled for!" Yuu snapped in an effort to stick up for Tagiru, an act he didn't do very often, "Besides, this isn't the time to be taking cheap shots at each other."

"I'm…kind of with Yuu on this…" Airu agreed, looking almost guilty at going against her leader. Ryouma sighed and nodded his head.

"You're right…I'm sorry," he apologized, "I'm just frustrated, that's all."

"You suffered a bad loss," Taiki consoled, "Its only natural for you to be frustrated."

"Right…" Ryouma agreed with a sigh. With that disagreement put aside Yuu turned his attention back to Ren who had yet to even move from his position on the couch. Yuu felt worry start to gather in his stomach again at the sight. It wasn't like Ren to remain so silent. He was about to open his mouth to voice his concern when once again he was interrupted.

"Ren."

The boy in question froze before stiffly looking up towards the speaker. Kiriha stared blankly at him and Ren stiff demeanour only got worse the longer he stared. Finally, after taking a few quick breaths, Ren quickly dropped his legs over the couch and onto the ground.

"Let's go." He stated simply.

"R-Ren!" Yuu called out in concern before his boyfriend had a chance to leave. Ren turned his eyes to Yuu but kept his face forward. A sudden fear started to swell in Yuu but he quickly pushed in aside.

"What's wrong..?" he asked, "Why are you acting like this? It's not because I went to Taiki-san for help is it?" Ren's eyes widened a little at the accusation before he close them and sighed, turning his face away from Yuu.

"…We…We need to end this now…" he whispered. All at once Yuu felt his world crashing down on him once more.

"Ren!" Airu snapped, standing up as disbelief crossed her face, "What the hell are you saying?"

"Oh stay out of this!" Ren snapped in return, turning to face her, "This has absolutely nothing to do with you!"

"Yes it does!" Airu argued, "Yuu's one of my best friends! I'm not about to let you hurt him the same way Taiki did!"

At the mention of his name Taiki stared at them all in confusion and concern. He never got a chance to say anything as Ren continued to argue with his teammate.

"I'm not trying to hurt him!" he yelled, "But the truth of the matter is Yuu belongs with them, not us! Us being in a relationship just screws with that!"

"N-no…" Yuu muttered but no one seemed to hear him.

"If it weren't for Yuu getting Taiki to come help us we would have been bait for whatever Digimon happened to stumble across us!" Airu argued, "If you ask me that's a good enough incentive to keep him around!"

"Oh right!" Ren snorted, crossing his arms over his chest, "We'll use Yuu the same way the Bagra Empire used him! That sounds fair!"

"That's not what I was saying!" Airu snapped.

"Just leave it alone Airu!" Ren continued, "No one asked for your opinion! This is between me and Yuu and your interference just made it worse than it was supposed to be!"

Airu opened her mouth to snap back in response but found she couldn't come up with a reasonable argument. Ren was right. She just made the break up a whole lot worse. Realizing this Airu turned to look down at Yuu who hadn't moved from his spot on the ground as silent tears streamed down his face.

Ren followed her gaze and a look of guilt crossed his face in an instant. He quickly turned away from the blond, turning his back to him instead.

"R-Ren wait-!"

"I'm sorry Yuu…" Ren stated simply before leaving the room. Ryouma followed next, offering a small thanks to Taiki and a simple pat on the shoulder for Yuu. Yuu let his face drop down to his lap and his eyes squeezed shut against the tears.

"…Yuu, I…if you want to talk…"

"Just go!" Yuu snapped through his tears, interrupting Airu. The female blonde seemed hurt at his rejection before hesitantly following after her teammates. As soon as Yuu heard the front door shut what little control he had left disappeared. He crouched forward and let out a cry, no longer able to contain his voice.

"Y-Yuu…?" Tagiru bent down next to him placing a hand on the blond's back only to be rejected.

"Don't touch me!" Yuu cried out, wrapping his arms around himself instead. Tagiru let his hand drop to his side and he looked over at the older two boys in the room. Taiki looked just as concerned, if not more so, than Tagiru was. Kiriha on the other hand sighed and turned to Taiki.

"I'll call Nene," he whispered to him. Taiki nodded and watched as Kiriha left towards the kitchen to use the phone there. Just as Kiriha got to the doorway Taiki spoke up once more.

"I was right," he stated causing Kiriha to stop, "You do know them." Silence passed through the room then, the only sound remaining being Yuu's continuous sobs. Kiriha didn't answer though; instead he just finished his walk into the kitchen. Frustration and anger swelled up in Taiki and the older goggle boy banged his fist against the closest wall, cursing under his breath.

"T-Taiki-san?" Tagiru stared at his senior in confusion. Taiki didn't answer. Instead he spun on his heals and ran out the door. He wasn't about to let things end this way, not without getting a complete explanation from someone. And that someone was Ren.

It didn't take long for him to catch up with Ren's group, calling out for them the moment he saw them. They stopped, turning to Taiki. Ryouma blankly, Ren in mild irritation, and Airu annoyed herself, but not from Taiki showing up it appeared. Taiki closed the remaining distance between them before turning to Ren.

"Okay spill it!" He snapped, "What's the real reason you're breaking up with Yuu?"

"I already explained myself back there-"

"That was a lie and you know it!" Taiki interrupted, "And don't deny that you know Kiriha either! What's going on!"

At the sound of Kiriha's name Ren froze, a small look of guilt crossing his face.

"Ren, tell him!" Airu urged, obviously knowing something of what's going on. Ren just turned his face away stubbornly.

"Ren broke up with Yuu because it wasn't going to work out anyway," Ryouma spoke up suddenly. Ren turned to look at his leader, giving a yell of protest that was just ignored.

"You see Taiki, Yuu is in love with you!" Ryouma stated firmly. Taiki froze and his eyes widened in shock. He took a step back before taking a deep breath to keep himself calm.

"W-what..?" he asked.

"Yuu was rebounding," Ren continued with a sigh, "I knew that but I also know that Yuu hasn't been able to get over you."

"But if you hadn't broken up with him then there would be a chance that-"

"That what?" Ren interrupted, "Then he'd get over you? Yeah, maybe he would! But here's a question oh great Hero, would _you_ be okay with that?"

Taiki opened his mouth to protest but quickly shut it as he actually gave some thought to Ren's words. How would he feel if Yuu completely forgot about him? He honestly couldn't deny that hearing that Yuu was in love with him made him a little happy…

Actually really happy. So happy that he felt like his heart could explode. As he realized this he thought back to the conversation he had had with Kiriha earlier that week. When it came down to it, it was true. All he ever thought about was Yuu. Yuu was a constant presence in his mind so when Yuu and Ren had started going out…

He had been jealous.

He was just as much in love with Yuu as Yuu was with him.

Taiki sighed and gave a soft smile before looking up at Ren.

"You're right," he stated softly, "I wouldn't be okay with it."

"Then get your ass back home and talk to Yuu," Ren said firmly. Taiki nodded his head and spun on his heels. He needed to talk to Yuu as well as Kiriha. Now that he knew his feelings he needed to set things straight.

Swinging open the door to his house, Taiki bolted into the living room only to stop short in his tracks. Kiriha and Tagiru were there still but Yuu was gone.

"W-where's Yuu?" Taiki asked looking at the other two occupants in the room for some answers. Kiriha sighed and shook his head while Tagiru looked down guiltily.

"He went home," the younger goggle boy answered, "I offered to walk him but he ran off into DigiQuartz…"

"Didn't you follow him?" Taiki demanded. Tagiru looked back down before turning his gaze shyly to Kiriha. Taiki's mouth opened in surprise as he himself stared at the blond.

"You _let_ Yuu go home through DigiQuartz on his own when he's an emotional wreck?" he demanded stomping over to the Blue General. Kiriha didn't flinch at all at Taiki's accusation, instead he just nodded.

"Why?"

"Because!" Kiriha snapped, looking down at Taiki in annoyance, "Right now there's nothing we can do for him! Nene's already on the plane back to Hong Kong and I'm sure Yuu doesn't need anymore surprises coming his way."

Taiki opened his mouth to protest but shut it as Kiriha continued.

"You've figured it out now, haven't you?" he asked causing Taiki to raise an eyebrow in confusion, "Your true feelings for Yuu I mean."

Taiki jumped a little at his words before sighing and looking down guiltily. He knew he would have to have this conversation with Kiriha he just didn't expect it to happen so soon.

"What feelings?" Tagiru asked before anything more could be said between the two, "What are you guys talking about?"

"Tagiru," Taiki called out, looking over at the boy in question. Tagiru just stared at him on confusion as Taiki offered him an apologetic smile, "Go home, alright. This is private now."

Tagiru opened his mouth a few times to respond but eventually just shut it and sighed.

"Man, I hate relationships…" he muttered as he left the room. Once he was gone Taiki turned back to Kiriha, a look of guilt evident on his face.

"…Kiriha-"

"It's fine Taiki," Kiriha interrupted, moving to take a seat on the couch, "I've known for a while now."

"But then…?" Taiki stared at Kiriha in mild confusion while the blonde just smiled.

"You needed to realize it," he answered. Taiki didn't say anything at first but then just smiled, closing his eyes and turning his face downwards.

"Yeah…You're right," he agreed before looking back up at Kiriha, "So is that why you came down in the first place?" Kiriha laughed before smirking over at Taiki mischievously.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he responded simply. Taiki laughed himself before plopping down on the couch next to Kiriha.

"Thanks Kiriha," he said, "And I'm sorry as well."

"Just talk to Yuu alright," Kiriha stated, "Give him some time to get over Ren and then let him know."

"Yeah I will," Taiki agreed with a nod.

* * *

><p>Once home Ren went straight to his room, closing the door behind him and flopping down on his bed. He lay on his back for a few minutes, just staring at the ceiling before sighing and rolling onto his side. So much was running through his head right now he just couldn't keep his emotions straight.<p>

He never thought he would wake up in Taiki's house with Yuu there. Those two there were the source of his emotional turmoil right now. Plus there was Kiriha's presence in the situation as well. The general of Blue Flare knew exactly what was going on more so than Ren himself knew.

Unfortunately that meant he knew of his feelings for Yuu as well.

He was never supposed to fall for Yuu in the first place. Sure he cared for the boy enough to date him but he never imagined he could actually fall for him. Ren sighed and was about to close his eyes when something on his side table caught his attention. Reaching over he found the strip of pictures he and Yuu had taken in the photo booth the other day.

He rolled back onto his back and stared at them. Slowly tears started to gather in his eyes and a lump found its way into his throat.

"…Yuu…"

"You're an idiot."

At the sound of Airu's voice Ren sat up on his bed in an instant, quickly wiping away the tears that were threatening to fall.

"W-What did you say?" he demanded of the girl. Airu snorted in annoyance before walking over to Ren's bed and snatching the pictures out of his hands. Ren made a noise of protest but Airu ignored.

"Ryouma just told me everything!" She snapped, "Did you really think that you could pull something off like this and get off without a scratch? Did you!"

"A-Airu..?"

"People's emotions aren't toys Ren!" Airu continued, "Perhaps you had good intentions but look at where it's led you now!"

"I was just trying to-"

"Oh shut up I don't want to hear your excuses!" Airu interrupted. Ren snapped his mouth shut, for the first time ever finding it hard to argue against his female companion. Airu's glare softened and she turned her gaze to the pictures she had snatched from Ren earlier.

"You're going to have to admit it Ren," she said finally, her voice having softened as well, "The two of you were actually going out. There was nothing fake about it." Ren didn't respond at first, just kept his gaze on the blonde for a long moment. Finally he looked down into his lap.

"…I know…" he whispered, his voice cracking a little.

"And this pain," Airu continued, "is real. Yuu is probably experiencing it as well right now."

"…I know," Ren repeated.

"Then do yourself a favour," Airu stated taking a seat on the bed next to Ren. She placed a hand on his back, before leaning in closer to him in a half hug.

"Cry."

As if on demand the tears started to fall down his face. Ren's shoulders started shake as he started to cry before he twisted around and grabbed hold of Airu, wrapping his arms around her neck and crying into her shoulder. Airu returned the embrace, moving her hands soothingly down his back and whispering words of comfort to her friend. It was all she could do at this moment in time.

* * *

><p>A whole day had gone by since the break up and Yuu had yet to leave his home. After spending the whole night crying after Ren had broken up with him Yuu had found it hard to get the motivation to leave his room. Still he managed to do that but didn't get farther than the living room.<p>

He collapsed face first onto the couch and just lay there. Deep down he knew the break up wasn't the end of the world but he just wasn't able to convince himself otherwise at the moment. He had finally started to get over Taiki and now he lost Ren as well.

Was the world just out to get him or something?

_Maybe I should give up on love…_ he thought to himself as tears started to fall silently once more.

He knew Taiki was worried for him right now, despite how he was currently feeling. There had been numerous phone calls from the older Goggle Boy but Yuu had ignored them all. He didn't have the courage to talk to him after what happened the other night.

He needed to talk to someone though.

"Airu..?" he muttered out loud, trying to decide who to turn on. He quickly shook the girl out of his head. She was probably dealing with Ren right now and he didn't want to risk seeing him again so soon. There was also his sister but she was back in Hong Kong now and he didn't want to worry her about this. There was also Tagiru but he quickly threw that option to the side. There was no way he could talk to that idiot about his feelings.

"Maybe…" Yuu slowly pushed himself up on his elbows and turned towards the cordless phone. He stared at it for a long moment before picking it up and dialling a number.

* * *

><p>"Yuu-kun!"<p>

Yuu looked up at the sound of his name from his spot on the park bench. Running towards him was none other than Akari Hinomoto, Taiki's childhood friend. Yuu offered a weak smile and a small wave as the redhead approached him.

"Hey Yuu-kun," she greeted taking a seat next to the blond, "How are you?"

"Been better…" Yuu responded with a sigh. Akari's cheerful expression disappeared at the response, worry instead taking its place.

"What's wrong?" she asked placing a hand on his shoulder. Yuu didn't respond at first. He started to wonder if confiding in Taiki's friend was such a good idea but decided that since he didn't have anyone else to turn to it should be okay. He sighed before turning his gaze to the sky.

"I'm so confused Akari-san…" he started, "I mean, logically speaking I know I'll get over this but…"

"I'm sorry Yuu-kun, but what are you trying to get over…?" Akari asked in confusion. He gave a weak laugh before nodding.

"R-Right, sorry…" he muttered before clenching his fists together in his lap, "I…I just…my b-boyfriend broke up with me…!"

Akari seemed a little shocked to hear Yuu admit to having had a boyfriend but quickly shook it off as Yuu's shoulder started to shake a little.

"Oh Yuu-kun…" she whispered before wrapping an arm around him in a half hug. Yuu leaned into the embrace all the while trying to stop himself but bursting into tears again.

"I-It's just that…I…I needed him..!" he stuttered against his tears, "He was-! If it weren't for him I'd…!"

"Shh…Yuu-kun, it's okay," Akari soothed, "Why don't you start at the beginning? I'll listen, I promise."

Yuu took a few shaky breaths before nodding his head. Pulling himself away from Akari he quickly wiped away the tears from his eyes before starting again. Slowly he explained everything that had happened recently to Akari. To his surprise Akari was already aware of Taiki's relationship with Kiriha but figured it had something to do with them being childhood friends.

Like she promised she remained silent through his explanation and listened to every word he said, only interrupting on few occasions to ask for a clarification. By the time Yuu finished he was wiping away tears from his eyes once more but this time having less success at it.

"Sounds like a lot has happened the past few weeks huh..?" Akari commented, not really expecting an answer. Yuu nodded either way, deciding against answering verbally lest he start crying once again.

"To be honest," Akari started leaning back against the park bench, "I never liked the idea of Taiki and Kiriha dating. Something about it didn't sit right with me, and it wasn't because they were both guys just so you know." Yuu sniffed a little before looking curiously over at Akari.

"R-really?" he asked. Akari nodded before smiling down at Yuu.

"But, and I don't know how you'll take this right now, Taiki called me the other night to tell me they had broken up as well." She explained. Yuu's eyes widened in surprise at the news while Akari just continued talking.

"I was a little surprised but from the sounds of it, it was mutual," She explained, "Actually…I think it would have been the same night you and, Ren-kun was it? Broke up also, if the timeline fits anyway."

"W-What..?" Yuu just stared at Akari in disbelief. The red head grinned at his reaction and continued.

"Actually Yuu-kun, the past few months whenever I talk with Taiki you're the main topic," she giggled, "It's always 'Yuu this' or 'Yuu that'. I swear I never heard him talk so much about someone before, not even Kiriha."

"S-Seriously..?" Yuu asked feeling a glimmer of hope spark up inside him. Akari giggled and nodded her head.

"Yup!" she confirmed, "In my personal opinion you should talk to Taiki. I'm positive something good will come out of-"

"Akari? What are you doing here?"

Both Akari and Yuu jumped in surprise before turning to look behind them. Standing there with a look on his confusion was none other than the topic of their conversation. Taiki's confusion increased when he saw Yuu sitting there next to Akari but quickly pushed it aside and walking up to them.

"Yuu!" he exclaimed as he walked up to them, "Are you okay? I've been so worried about you."

"I-I…I…" Yuu didn't know what to say to Taiki. After what Akari had said to him seeing the goggle boy made his heart beat faster like it had before he found out that Taiki had been in a relationship with Kiriha. Akari elbowed him, snapping Yuu out of his stupor. He turned to the redhead and she indicated towards Taiki with her chin.

"Tell him!" she whispered. Yuu blushed a little and looked back down in his lap, away from the goggle boy behind him. Akari watched him in concern before turning back to Taiki and shrugging. Taiki sighed and walked around the bench to stand in front of Yuu, crouching down so he could look into the blond's face.

"I'll leave you two alone," Akari said standing up. She quickly left the two of them and Yuu suddenly felt nervousness creep into his system at once. He tried to avoid Taiki's eyes but could feel them on him the whole time. He should say something.

But what?

"Yuu…"

Well guess he doesn't have to worry about saying anything since Taiki started first.

"Look," Taiki continued, "I don't know what you and Akari were talking about, but I think I can guess." Yuu turned his gaze off to the side guiltily before responding.

"S-She said… you and Kiriha-san broke up…" he said quietly. Taiki sighed and stood up, only to take a seat next to Yuu on the bench.

"Yeah, we did…" he answered.

"It…wasn't my fault…was it…?" Yuu inquired. Taiki didn't respond straight away, instead trying to think of how to answer that. Yuu took the silence as it had been his fault and turned to Taiki in mild shock.

"T-Taiki-san I-"

"Wait Yuu," Taiki cut in turning to look at the blond, "It's hard to explain but in a sense, yes it was because of you."

"I'm so sor-"

"No Yuu," Taiki interrupted again, "It's my fault also. I…finally realized something…"

This time it was Yuu's turn to look confused. Taiki stared at Yuu, a small blush grazing his cheeks and an unsure look on his face. He opened his mouth a few times to try and say something but wasn't able to. This just increased Yuu's confusion.

Finally Taiki sighed and shook his head. Instead of trying to speak up again like Yuu had thought he would Taiki reached forward and grabbed hold of Yuu's shoulders.

In an instant Yuu's eyes widened and his mind went blank.

Taiki lips were on his and they were kissing. Without thinking Yuu pulled back in shock. He covered his mouth with one hand and stared up at Taiki with wide eyes. Taiki on the other hand looked shocked by the rejection at first before a look of disappointment crossed his face.

"I…I'm sorry Yuu…I shouldn't-"

Taiki got cut off when this time Yuu reached forward, cupping Taiki's face between his hands. He brought his face right up to Taiki's, resting their foreheads together.

"You're not rebounding right..?" Yuu asked quietly. Taiki shook his head the best he could in Yuu's grip before smiling.

"I've loved you for a long time," he answered, "I just didn't realize it before now." Yuu felt his heart skip a beat and smiled. Taiki took that moment to reach forward with one hand, cupping the base of Yuu's face and pressing his lips against the blond's once more. This time Yuu didn't pull away, instead he sighed into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Taiki's neck possessively.

"Success~!"

The two pulled away from the kiss instantly at the exclamation, turning towards the sound of laughter. Taiki in confusion, Yuu in embarrassment. Standing there next to a confused Akari were both Kiriha and Ren. Kiriha had his hands in his pants pockets with a smirk on his face while Ren was laughing into his hand.

"Kiriha?"

"Ren?"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Ren managed to say between his laughter. After a moment he calmed down enough to turn back to the two new lovers. Both Taiki and Yuu stood up but Taiki took a more possessive stance in front of Yuu, still slightly jealous of Ren.

"Okay, can you two _please_ explain to me what's going on?" Taiki asked. Kiriha and Ren exchanged glances, the latter shrugging, before turning back to Taiki and Yuu.

"You may want to sit down." Ren said. Taiki and Yuu looked at each other in mild confusion before doing as suggested and taking a seat back down on the bench. Yuu jumped in surprise and arms were suddenly around his neck and a giggle was heard from behind him. He looked back and saw Airu grinning from ear to ear, and it was obvious to Yuu that she knew what was going on now.

"So!" Ren started sitting down on the ground in front of the love birds, "Where to start I wonder…?"

"How about just how long you two have known each other?" Taiki suggested as Akari came to stand next to him. Kiriha laughed this time and look down at Ren.

"I met Ren through Ryouma," he explained, "See, after my parents died the company they owned got taken over by another family, the Mogami family to be precise."

"In other words Ryouma," Ren continued, "And through him is how Kiriha and I met. He was with us the whole time after we got out Digimon and started Hunting in the beginning."

"S-Seriously?" Taiki asked in mild confusion.

"Totally!" Airu piped up, "It's thanks to him that we Hunt as well as we do."

"Anyway," Kiriha continued before anymore questions could be asked, "I had noticed from the beginning that something was up with you and Yuu," He explained looking over at Taiki, "As I said before, he was all you ever spoke about. Needless to say I was getting suspicious."

"So that's when he came to me!" Ren spoke up, "He knew we were going to be Hunting in this area soon and asked us to investigate. Didn't take long to see the connection between you two, except you were both oblivious to the others feelings and you," at this he pointed to Taiki, "Not only were you oblivious to Yuu's feelings but to your own as well!"

"So we put together a little plan." Kiriha finished with a laugh.

"What?" both Taiki and Yuu exclaimed in shock.

"In my defense," Airu spoke up causing Yuu to turn back to the girl still hanging off his shoulders, "I only found out today when Kiriha stopped by, otherwise I never would have gotten involved."

"T-That's okay." Yuu stuttered, still in shock over the news. Taiki was as well, shaking his head in disbelief.

"So everything that's happened since you showed up in town was apart of some elaborate scheme?" he inquired. Kiriha and Ren looked at each other before back at Taiki and shrugged.

"Yeah, pretty much." Kiriha answered before looking down at Ren and smirking, "Of course there's something Ren needs to tell Yuu about it too." Ren flinched at the comment before turning to look up at Yuu, the blonde staring down at him curiously.

"…I…" Ren started nervously before sighing and looking back down. After a moment he turned to look back up at Yuu, "I wasn't trying to play with your feelings and I'm sorry I hurt you. I…" another sigh, "I really did care about you. I broke it off earlier than planned because I was starting to fall for you and that would have had bad side effects."

"I can vouch for that," Airu stated finally letting go of Yuu, "He cried for nearly an hour the night he broke up with you."

"Airu!" Ren snapped. The girl just stuck her tongue out at him cheekily and turned away. Yuu watched the exchange curiously before laughing. He stood up and took the few steps over to Ren before kneeling down in front of him.

"Thanks Ren," he stated simply. A small blush made its way across Ren's face and he quickly looked away, standing up and grabbing a hold of Kiriha's arm.

"I only did it so I could be with Kiriha okay!" he snapped in defense. Taiki's jaw dropped in shock at the sudden declaration and he turned to look at Kiriha in shock. The older blond laughed nervously.

"Oh busted~!" Airu sang before giggling.

"I…wasn't expecting that," Yuu muttered also in shock. Ren just pouted and half hid behind Kiriha, trying to hide his now red face. Taiki continued to stare in shock before slowly starting to laugh. After a moment he was laughing uncontrollably, the rest of the group staring at him in confusion.

"T-Taiki?" Akari raised an eyebrow at her childhood friend's actions.

"I-I'm sorry..!" Taiki managed to say through his laughter, "B-But this whole thing...! This is…just too…!" He broke off into laughter again, unable to continue is sentence. Thankfully Yuu understood what he was trying to say and started giggling himself. The situation really was quite amusing.

"Okay so now that all this has been sorted out," Yuu stated standing up and looking at the group, "Where the heck is Tagiru?"

"Ah!" both Ren and Airu grinned slyly and Yuu looked back and forth between the two in confusion before realization hit.

"Ryouma."

"Yup." Ren confirmed.

"What is Ryouma going to do to him?" Taiki asked finally calming down from his insane laughter. Yuu stared at Taiki blankly for a moment before smirking along with Ren and Airu, a giggle escaping his lips at the same time. A spark of dread suddenly dropped in Taiki's stomach and he feared for his Junior's safety.

* * *

><p>"There they are." Ren pointed out. They had moved from the park bench and started searching the park for where Ryouma and Tagiru were. It didn't take long for them to find them at the playground equipment. They all hid by a grove of trees and peeked out curiously, while Ren, Airu and Yuu watched mischievously. From the distance they were at they were still able to make out the remnants of the conversation being held.<p>

"You mean everything is sorted out between Taiki-san and Yuu now?" Tagiru asked the silver haired teen. Ryouma shrugged his shoulders and nodded.

"They should be sorting things out now, so I figured now would be a good time to get my reward," He stated with a smirk, "Since I highly doubt I'll get another chance soon to talk to you again." Tagiru stiffened before turning his gaze to the ground and pouting.

"I was really hoping you'd have forgotten about that…" He muttered. Ryouma laughed and shook his head, walking closer to the younger goggle boy.

"Sorry, Tagiru. No such luck." He answered.

"Okay well what do you want?" Tagiru demanded, "For the life of me I cannot figure out what it is that I can give you if it's not one of my Digimon!" Ryouma's smirk increased, causing Tagiru to shrink backwards.

"It's not something materialistic," Ryouma said before reaching forward and grabbing Tagiru's arms, pulling the goggle boy closer to him.

Taiki's eyes widened and his jaw dropped before turning to Yuu.

"No way?" He exclaimed softly in disbelief. Yuu just giggled and nodded before indicating that he continue to watch.

"R-Ryouma what are you doing?" Tagiru demanded his cheeks turning red at the close proximity of their faces. Ryouma's smirk increased once more.

"Taking my reward," He answered before leaning in closer so their lips were just a hair's breath away from each other. Tagiru's breathing hitched and his eyes widened but found he was unable to move.

"Your first kiss." Ryouma whispered so that only the goggle boy could hear before closing in the distance between them.

Taiki jumped back in shock while Ren, Airu and Yuu all laughed and Kiriha smirked in amusement. The sound of them laughing obviously caught the attention of Ryouma and Tagiru. Ryouma pulled away and turned to look at them in confusion before annoyance crossed his face. Tagiru on the other hand remained stock still, his face the color of a tomato and his eyes wide in shock.

"Seriously guys?" Ryouma asked, annoyance clear in his voice, "You seriously had to spy?"

"Oh come on!" Ren laughed, "It was too good to pass up!" Yuu nodded in agreement but continued to laugh along side Airu, the two using each other for support. Ryouma simply sighed and shook his head. Either way he had gotten what he wanted so the interruption didn't bother him that much.

"Okay, okay!" He said walking up to them, "I'm assuming since you're all here things have been sorted out right?"

"Uh…right…" Taiki confirmed, still trying to wrap his mind around what he'd just witnessed.

"Well then, I guess that means things can go back to the way they were right?" Ryouma asked. They all nodded in agreement, Ryouma giving a nod as well.

"Then let's go," He stated, "It's about time we went back to our actual Hunting."

"Right." Ren and Airu both agreed. The three of them along with Kiriha then proceeded to leave the group behind, only to be stopped by Yuu.

"Wait a second!" The blond called out, running up to them. Ren turned to look at Yuu in confusion as he pulled out his Xros Loader.

"Skull Greymon," Yuu stated, "I'd like to return him to you." Ren looked mildly surprised at first before opening his mouth to decline, only to shut it once more. Yuu simply smiled and Ren knew he had no choice but to accept. Pulling out his own Xros Loader Yuu returned the Digimon to Ren.

"Thanks by the way," Yuu said as he returned his Xros Loader to his pocket, "For everything. I appreciate it." Ren just grinned and nodded before turning back around and grabbing hold of Kiriha's arm.

As the group left Taiki came up behind Yuu, placing a hand on the blond's shoulder. Yuu turned and looked up at Taiki, smiling fondly. Taiki was now his and there were absolutely no strings attached this time. He felt his heart beating a little faster but felt no need to turn away in embarrassment. Taiki smiled and leaned down giving Yuu a quick kiss on his lips.

From now on everything was going to be okay. Yuu was sure of it. Taiki was also.

"What the hell just happened?"

Taiki and Yuu both jumped and turned behind him to see Tagiru finally snapped out of his shock and pulling at his hair in frustration while yelling out random stuff about Ryouma. Taiki and Yuu watched in mild shock for a moment before both laughing.

Yup, everything was going to be okay.

* * *

><p>THE<p>

END

thanks for reading~! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. for those whome I have accidentaly turned into Ren/Yuu fans I am planning a Ren/Yuu fantasy based story right now. its still in the planning stages but i hope you'll look out for it! the pending names are either Balance or Paradox. buh-bye for now!


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